The Challenge
by Jeffrey Dahmer
Summary: Foxleap strongly believes that he's the best at everything he does. And after proving he's one of the fastest, strongest, and smartest cats in the Clan, he's grown cocky. So when Spiderleg comments that any she-cat would cringe when they saw him, Foxleap takes that as a challenge. A challenge to find one she-cat who likes him... This would be harder than he thought.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter One

"Is that a challenge?"

Foxleap sat tall, the morning sun glistening off his ginger fur and his amber eyes narrowed. Toadstep sighed and rolled his eyes at the young tom. He had merely stated that his hunting was improving and joked that soon enough, he'd be better than even Sandstorm. Before he knew it, Foxleap was boasting that _no one _could catch more mice than him.

"No, for the millionth time, I'm not challenging you to anything," he sighed. "You know, not everything I say is a challenge."

"But I take it as one," Foxleap smirked. "That is what the best do."

Around him, everyone groaned but the cocky tom didn't hear it – or refused to. Instead, he heard sighs of admiration, whispers about his skills, the muffled sobs of all those who wished they were as great as him.

"Forget I said anything," Toadstep sniffed and turned to the gray she-cat next to him. "Hey Ivypool, want to go hunting?"

"Sure, I'd like to see these hunting skills for myself," she teased.

Foxleap's ears perked at this, "Want to see my-"

"No, Foxleap," Ivypool deadpanned. She turned to Toadstep, "Let's just go already."

The two left the camp, muttering something about how cocky and arrogant Foxleap had grown; he was almost as bad as Berrynose! He hadn't always been like this but ever since he became an apprentice, he did everything he could to prove that he was the best of the best. Even if he wasn't.

It had only gotten worse since the battle with the Dark Forest.

Foxleap watched as the two left the camp, their pelts barely brushing as they squeezed under the bramble barrier. Icecloud, who lay near him, growled under her breath. "Hey Foxleap, do you think… do you think there's anything going on between them?"

"Hm?" Foxleap glanced up from his sparrow. "Who?"

"Ivypool and Toadstep!" Icecloud snapped. "Are they mates or something?"

Foxleap shrugged, "I don't know. Maybe. It doesn't really matter, does it?"

Icecloud sighed, "No, it's just… never mind."

"Okay. Well you can ask them later but I have to go train Cherrypaw," Foxleap dismissed as he stood up.

"Aren't you going to finish that?" Icecloud nodded to the half-eaten sparrow lying at his paws. He had probably only taken two bites out of it and even though it was Greenleaf, they still shouldn't be wasting prey.

"No, give it to the elders or something," Foxleap sniggered and Icecloud's blue eyes narrowed.

"That's a little disrespectful, don't you think?" But Foxleap didn't reply. He simply padded off in search of his apprentice. Icecloud stared at him, slight disgust appearing in her eyes. A few cats who were sharing tongues near her also had the same look in their eyes.

Foxleap walked to where Cherrypaw and Molepaw were gossiping by the elders den. Dewkit, Amberkit, and Snowkit were sitting nearby, admiring the two apprentices. When Foxleap approached, Cherrypaw swallowed the rest of her mouse and sat up. "Hi, Foxleap."

"Cherrypaw, if you're ready then we're going to go battle train. You need to work on your leap-and-hold," Foxleap mewed and the younger apprentice nodded excitedly. "Molepaw, if you and Rosepetal want to come, feel free to join."

It wasn't so much the fact that Foxleap wanted to train with the pair, but because he wanted to be closer to the pretty cream she-cat. _If she just saw me in action… she wouldn't be able to keep her paws off me!_

"Sorry but Rosepetal said we'd be hunting today," Molepaw said. Disappointment filled Foxleap for a moment but he nodded anyway and left with Cherrypaw. He would just have to train without the pretty she-cat as a distraction.

The mentor and apprentice made their way to the Mossy Hollow in silence. They had never really bonded on more than a mentor/apprentice scale and it made it hard for the two to start any real conversation.

When they reached the hollow, Foxleap turned to his apprentice. "Okay, the leap-and-hold is a move a small cat uses on a larger one. You'd use this in battle when going up against a full grown warrior and I've heard stories of this move defeating even the strongest warriors if used correctly."

Foxleap continued, "Now, what I want you to do is sidestep my attack and then jump on my back. You have to hold on for a few seconds and then you can let go."

Cherrypaw nodded with determination gleaming in her amber eyes. Foxleap lunged at her, his paws outstretched, as she easily dodged to the side. When Foxleap came to a stop, the apprentice lunged forward, latching herself on his back like a burr.

Foxleap tried to shake her off but when it was clear the apprentice wasn't budging, he stopped. "Good. Now I'm going to do a drop-and-roll. I want you to jump off me so you don't get squashed."

He didn't wait for Cherrypaw's reaction and instead, dropped suddenly to the ground and rolled out. Cherrypaw was still latched onto him when he rolled away and seconds later, the squeal of the younger apprentice could be heard as he squashed her under his body.

Foxleap quickly scrambled off of Cherrypaw. "Why didn't you jump off like I told you to?" Foxleap snapped at the whimpering apprentice.

"I didn't expect you to drop so fast!" she wailed.

Foxleap sighed, "Let's just get back to camp so Jayfeather can look – uh, smell –whatever hurts."

Cherrypaw nodded with a sniffle and crawled to her feet and started limping towards camp. She was cradling her front right paw and whenever she touched it to the ground, she would cry out. _Oh please, it can't hurt that bad._

When they reached camp, Jayfeather was already outside, talking quietly with Lionblaze by the medicine cat den. Lionblaze spotted the injured she-cat and was about to say something to his brother but the blind medicine cat was already walking over.

"Foxleap rolled on me!" Cherrypaw cried and Foxleap fought the urge to roll his eyes. By the way she was wailing about it, you'd think she was mauled by a badger.

Jayfeather gently pressed his paw up against the wound, to which Cherrypaw let out another cry. "It's definitely sprained. You'll heal just fine but you won't be able to train for a while."

"How long is a while?" Cherrypaw sniffled.

"A moon, give or take."

Foxleap and Cherrypaw both shot to their feet, the latter soon falling back on the ground. "What do you mean 'a moon'? It can't take _that _long to heal a little sprain! I mean, she twisted her paw!"

Cats started to gather around the small group, all whispering and muttering about the crying apprentice and her mentor. Jayfeather narrowed his blind eyes at the tom, "There's a difference between a twisted paw and a sprain, Foxleap. A twisted paw is caused when you land funny, a sprain is caused when your idiot mentor decides to roll on you."

Foxleap felt his ears heat up in embarrassment as some of the cats watching, sniggered at him. But he refused to back down. "It's not like I randomly attacked her. We were training and she didn't do the move right."

"Save it. It won't change the fact that for the next moon, you're without an apprentice."

Cherrypaw let out an angry huff as she struggled to her feet. She whipped around to Foxleap and glared at him, "This is all your fault!"

Foxleap watched in shock as the apprentice hopped away, soon followed by Jayfeather and her family. Spiderleg, who had been watching the whole thing, was the first to speak up. "Wow, you really screwed up this time."

"It wasn't my fault," Foxleap huffed to his brother and sat down. Most of the cats watching had wandered away, probably to gossip about the latest injured apprentice.

"According to Cherrypaw, it's all your fault," Spiderleg chuckled as his brother shot him a glare. "Oh lighten up, it's only a moon."

"I've faced worst injuries and been on my feet in a few days!" Foxleap huffed.

"But you're _Foxleap, _the strongest, fastest, smartest, bestest cat in the world! You could get your leg ripped off and still be able to take on the whole forest," Spiderleg said sarcastically. Only Foxleap didn't pick up on the whole sarcasm bit.

"I know! So why's it taking so long to heal a little sprained paw?" Foxleap slumped to the ground and placed his head on his paws. Spiderleg stayed sitting, staring at his little brother with clear distaste.

"Please tell me you're not being serious right now." Foxleap merely looked up with him in confusion to answer his question. "Foxleap, I hate to burst your bubble but you aren't the centre of the universe."

Foxleap flicked his tail, "I never said I-"

"But you act like it! For StarClan's sake, stop acting like the Clans bow down at your feet because frankly, nobody can stand you!" Spiderleg spat. "You're a talented warrior, I'll admit, but you need to get your head out of the clouds because you aren't as great as you'd think and you're going to end up hurting yourself with that attitude."

Foxleap sat up straight and glared at his brother, "I don't think I'm better than everyone else… okay maybe I do but it's because I _am. _Remember when I had the contest with Toadstep, Icecloud and Rosepetal to see who could catch the most prey? Or when we tested who could jump the highest! What about-"

"Well we may as well just make you leader!" Spiderleg rolled his eyes. "Foxstar just seems to fit you perfectly. In fact, let's make you leader of all four Clans! Why not throw StarClan in there too?"

Foxleap ducked his head, bashfully, "Well, I don't know about _that_…"

Spiderleg rolled his amber eyes again. "This is reason number one why you don't have a mate."

Foxleap narrowed his amber eyes, "What's that supposed to mean?"

"It means that you're so arrogant that no one wants to be near you," Spiderleg said bluntly.

"It's not that I'm arrogant," Foxleap's eyes fell on Rosepetal who was sharing tongues with Mousewhisker. "I'm just waiting for the right she-cat."

Spiderleg followed Foxleap's gaze to the cream coloured she-cat. When he saw who the young tom was staring at, Spiderleg cuffed him over the ear. "You're not mating with my daughter, you mouse-brain."

Foxleap batted Spiderleg's paw off of him, "Why? Couldn't you imagine how beautiful our kits would be? They'd have my dashing good looks and her-"

"Stop! I do not want to have this conversation with you. I'll give you two reasons why you and Rosepetal will never be mates. First, you are way too full of yourself to treat her right. And secondly, she wouldn't go for you in a million seasons!"

Foxleap stared at his brother in shock and disbelief. Of course Rosepetal would consider taking him as a mate! In fact, she had probably already thought about it. "You're crazy if you don't see the way she-cat's look at me. They love me! Rosepetal included."

Spiderleg literally toppled over from laughed so hard. He could barely make out the words but managed to gasp, "Love you? They all cringe when they even hear your name. Trust me, Foxleap, I'm not the crazy one in this situation."

Foxleap sniffed and looked away, "Think what you'd like, Spiderleg. But until you have actual proof, I'm going to keep on believing that I'm the centre of every she-cats world."

Spiderleg rolled his eyes and scanned the cats in the Clan. Finally, his eyes landed on their brother, Birchfall who was exiting the warriors den. "Birchfall, come here!" Spiderleg called.

Birchfall padded towards the two toms and nodded greetings at them. He was about to say something when Spiderleg cut him off. "Birchfall, go ask Rosepetal if she would ever consider Foxleap as a mate."

"Well since you asked so nicely…" Birchfall muttered as he walked towards the dark cream she-cat. Mousewhisker had gone to gossip with Icecloud, leaving Rosepetal alone.

Foxleap watched from afar as Birchfall greeted her. After a few moments of only smiles and nods, Foxleap turned to Spiderleg with a smirk on his face. "Looks like I was right, as usual."

"Keep watching," Spiderleg meowed confidently. Foxleap rolled his eyes and turned back to watch Rosepetal and Birchfall talking. They watched for a few more heartbeats and just as Foxleap was about to tell Spiderleg to give it up, the unexpected happened.

Rosepetal cringed, as if physically disgusted by whatever Birchfall had said to her. Foxleap was about to say that it could be about anything but that thought diminished when she tilted her head towards Foxleap as if you ask, "That Foxleap?"

Birchfall nodded and she shook her head, laughing. Foxleap was never good at reading lips but it wasn't hard to make out what she was saying. "Never."

Spiderleg turned to Foxleap with a smug look on his face. "Told you."

Foxleap just stared at Rosepetal in shock as she continued to talk with Birchfall. _How could she not like me? I'm handsome, strong, brave… what's not to like?_

"But – but…" Foxleap stuttered.

Spiderleg nudged him, "Don't worry, little brother. You don't need a mate. And maybe one day you'll find a deaf she-cat who will really love you," he taunted.

"Just because one she-cat doesn't like me, doesn't mean that they all don't," Foxleap defended himself. Spiderleg only laughed.

"Trust me, it's not just her. Any she-cat who's met you would cringe if they heard your name," Spiderleg teased and Foxleap narrowed his amber eyes, sitting up straighter.

"Is that a challenge?"

Spiderleg sighed, "Not this again! Foxleap, not everything is…" It was like Spiderleg had an epiphany as a cruel smirk grew on his face. Maybe a little rejection would be what's best for Foxleap. It would knock his ego down a bit and maybe make him a little more tolerable. "Actually, it _is_ a challenge."

Foxleap smirked as Spiderleg continued, "You have exactly one moon to find a she-cat who actually _enjoys _your personality. And Icecloud doesn't count."

"It's on."

And so it begins.

**A/N: This idea was adopted from the amazing tr1xx777. She has an adoptable stories page which has some really good ideas that I really suggest you guys go grab them before someone else takes them!**

**I know that someone will ask this so I'll just answer it right now. Yes, Rosepetal is related to Foxleap but Erin Hunter has made it clear that it doesn't really matter. Case and point: Willowpelt and Patchpelt. They were siblings but they still had kits together. **

**Anyway, what do you guys think? I'll be updating once a week, every Saturday and I already have the first three chapters done so unless there's a problem with the Wi-Fi, you guys are guaranteed an update on time! And I put QOTD at the bottom of every chapter because I really want to get to know my readers and I saw some other authors do it. I forget who though...**

**Question of the Day**

**Who is your favorite character from the books?**


	2. Chapter 2

**EradrinSkyleaf- Aw shucks, thank you :3 I have to admit that I've always been a bigger fan of the underdogs! So I'm that reader who falls in love with every character that has a slightly nice name... **

**Guest- thank you! And actually, it was my second review ;) but I'm so glad you like it and I hope you keep writing!**

**hollyleaf1122- thanks! I always pictured Foxleap as kind of cocky and I was nervous that no one else would agree with my interpretation of him! And I can tell by your name who your fave character is haha! And I love Icecloud too! I'm trying to give her a subplot so she is given a little more depth. **

**tr1xx777- thank you! That means so much, you have no idea! And I'm sure those other authors would have made the story amazing! **

**kikidusk- We'll see about that. Maybe he's just a little too cocky to be appreciated! And out of those four cats I think I like Forestar or Graystripe the best!**

**lolkat123- well I guess we'll find out! It's going to be tough though!**

**Snowsong- Thanks, here's your update :)**

Chapter Two

Foxleap expected the challenge to be over by the end of the day. There were a lot of beautiful she-cats in ThunderClan and if he ended up with a mate, then that was just swell. He needed to pass on his good looks and skills to _someone. _He didn't even care if he liked the she-cat's personality or not, he just needed to prove Spiderleg wrong.

Spiderleg and Foxleap continued their little banter until it was well after Sunhigh. But there was still time left in the day and with Foxleap's good looks and wide range of skill, he was sure she-cats would be throwing themselves at him.

With a smirk, Foxleap scanned the Clan for anyone he thought would be a suitable mate. Obviously, they had to be attractive and tolerable. His eyes landed on Blossomfall; sure, the she-cat could be a little rude at times but she wasn't deformed or anything.

Foxleap padded up to Blossomfall, who was basking on her back, in the warm sun. "Hey, Blossomfall."

One of Blossomfall's eyes opened to glance at the reddish-brown tom. "Uh, hello?"

_So far, so good. _Foxleap settled down next to the she-cat and turned his charm to the next level. "The sun looks pretty on your fur," he commented.

Both of Blossomfall's eyes shot open as she turned to stare at the tom. "Are you feeling alright, Foxleap? Because I'm pretty sure you just… complimented me."

Foxleap huffed, "Yes, I'm feeling alright!"

Blossomfall's face remained shocked. "But… but you complimented me? You don't compliment anyone! Other than yourself of course."

Foxleap narrowed his eyes at the tortoiseshell she-cat. "Oh please, I'm not that self centered!"

Blossomfall's face didn't change. She still continued to stare at him with the same disbelief on her face. He waited patiently for her to relax and say something like, "I know you aren't. I was just playing, silly. Now, how about we share a robin and then later we can have a go at it in the forest."

Only she didn't say that.

Blossomfall burst into howls of laughter as she rolled onto her stomach. Her laughter echoed around camp and everyone turned to stare at the two. Foxleap ducked his head as his ears burned with embarrassment. At least the other she-cats would think he has a sense of humour now…

Blossomfall's laughter finally died down as she turned to look at Foxleap. She said, "Thanks for that, I needed a good laugh."

"I could tell," Foxleap growled out. "Is there any part of my personality that you actually like?"

"Yeah, sure." Foxleap perked up. "That joke you told was pretty funny so you have a good sense of humour."

Foxleap frowned. "That wasn't a joke."

"Oh."

"So there's not a single part of my personality that you actually think is pleasant then?" Foxleap clarified and Blossomfall looked around awkwardly. Most of the cats who had been watching her roll around laughing had gone back to their own conversations but at that moment, Blossomfall prayed for one of them to come save her from this awkward situation.

"Do you want me to be blunt?" Foxleap nodded. "No. I frankly can't stand you."

"Good to know," Foxleap replied dryly as he stood up. He didn't even bother to say goodbye to the rude she-cat, he just kept on walking. _Okay, that's only two she-cats in all of ThunderClan. I'll be fine._

He needed someone nicer. He should have known better when he set his sights on Blossomfall; of course she wouldn't like him, she didn't like anyone! His next target would have to be someone with compassion. Someone who looked past the so-called arrogance and saw the real him.

And that cat was Cinderheart.

Okay, so maybe taking Cinderheart as a mate wasn't exactly… morally right. But she was beautiful, inside and out, and if anyone could enjoy Foxleap's personality, it would be her. And it wasn't like she and Lionblaze were officially together. They were mates for like, one day, and then they broke up. So that meant Cinderheart was up for grabs.

"Hey, Cinderheart," Foxleap greeted. This time, he wouldn't be so blunt with his compliments. In fact, he wouldn't compliment her at all!

"Hello," Cinderheart nodded her head in acknowledgement. "Sorry, I'd love to chat but I'm about to go hunting."

"Great, I'll join you," Foxleap purred. This was going better than he thought.

"O-kay?" Cinderheart was too nice to say that Foxleap wasn't invited. Even if the tom got on her last nerve and would probably brag about the time he caught a weasel that was almost as long as his tail and as wide as a thick branch. Cinderheart saw the weasel with her own eyes; the thing was the size of a twig and about as skinny as one too.

They walked out of camp, Foxleap with a smug look on his face and Cinderheart with a confused one. Where had this come from? She and Foxleap had never really connected on more than an acquaintance level, yet here he was, inviting himself to hunt with her. The entire experience was strange…

"So I was thinking that we should hunt near WindClan border. Cherrypaw was able to catch a rabbit the other day so maybe we'll be able to too," Foxleap suggested. Instead of immediately agreeing to the idea like Foxleap expected, Cinderheart snorted at the idea.

"Cherrypaw probably just go lucky. You know that catching a rabbit in ThunderClan rarely happens," Cinderheart said and Foxleap ducked his head. He should have known better than suggest something as trivial as that!

An awkward silence filled the air as the two walked. Foxleap wanted desperately to break it, so he started up with a story that Icecloud found intriguing. Cinderheart tried her best to tune him out but Foxleap was never known for being quiet and with each step she took, it grew harder and harder to pretend like he wasn't there.

"…it was huge! I swear on my life that it was as long as my tail and as thick as a log."

"Foxleap, would you mind just… not talking? You're scaring away all the prey." Cinderheart interrupted him and Foxleap fell silent. She had a point about the prey but Foxleap wasn't used to silence. He was supposed to be winning her over, not letting her catch a dormouse.

Foxleap sighed and decided to do a little hunting anyway. If Cinderheart saw how good he was at the trait then maybe she'd be more open to being Foxleap's mate. She was a good hunter herself and probably wanted someone who she could relate to on more than a personal level. The reddish-brown tom opened his mouth and let the scents swarm him. There was a squirrel close by that would surely impress Cinderheart!

Foxleap crept forward, keeping his body close to the ground and placing one foot silently in front of the other. He could see it chewing on a seed near the base of the tree; it was such an easy kill that a kit wouldn't even be able to mess it up. But then again, Foxleap was far more immature than a kit.

Foxleap lunged forward, his paws outstretched. His misjudged the distance between him and his meal and ended up landing a mouse-length too short. His front paws hit a root and the warrior was sent tumbling forward, letting out a loud yelp as he rolled straight into a thorny bush. He groaned as he sat up, only to be greeted by Cinderheart's annoyed face. "If you're going to die, at least do it quietly. You scared away half the forest with that scream!"

Foxheart growled under his breath as he pulled himself out of the bush. Thorns were snagged onto his pelt and dug into his skin, but the young tom refused to admit his pain. He already embarrassed himself enough in front of the pretty she-cat, he didn't want to do it again by admitting to weakness.

Foxleap winced as he put his front paw on the ground. There was a thorn stuck right into the bottom of the pad and blood was already starting to appear. Cinderheart was turned away so Foxleap did what any immature tom would do and sucked up any remaining dignity he had and ripped the thorn out of his foot. It hurt a lot more than he expected it to and he couldn't help but let out a whimper that Cinderheart graciously ignored.

"Stupid squirrel," Foxleap muttered under his breath. He spat the bloody thorn out and placed his paw gently on the ground. It stung when it touched the dusty forest floor but it was tolerable.

Cinderheart turned around, about to say something when she finally seemed to notice the thorns sticking out of Foxleap's pelt. "Foxleap, maybe you should go back to camp. Jayfeather needs to make sure you don't get an infection or something like that."

Foxleap shrugged, "Eh, I'll be fine. I'd rather not make a big deal out of it."

What he was really thinking: _Oh StarClan, the pain! Please make her force me to go see Jayfeather!_

But Cinderheart simply said, "Okay, suit yourself."

Great, now he had to follow this she-cat through the entire forest because she couldn't be a good future mate and force him to go back to camp. Well, that's just swell!

And then, just to make the wound a little more painful: Lionblaze appeared. When he spotted Cinderheart, the tom purred and touched his nose affectionately against Cinderheart's. Foxleap pretended to not to watch as he groomed himself of any stray brambles that got caught in his fur. "Hello Cinderheart," Lionblaze greeted with a warm smile on his face.

"Hey," Cinderheart replied. "Would you like to join us?"

_Excuse me? We were kind of hunting alone! _Foxleap yelled in his mind. He stifled a growl as he listened to Lionblaze agree to her offer. "Sure, there's been a lot of hares crossing the border lately so maybe we'll have some luck and be able to catch one?"

"Good idea, Lionblaze!" Cinderheart praised and Foxleap's jaw dropped. Did he not just suggest that exact same thing?

Without even waiting for Foxleap, the two started giggling and chatting with each other, as they walked in the direction of the WindClan border. Within moments, the pair had disappeared, leaving Foxleap stranded by the thorn bush.

Foxleap rolled his amber eyes as he pulled himself to his feet and started hobbling towards ThunderClan. If Cinderheart clearly wasn't going to be his mate then he wasn't even going to try. So that was Rosepetal, Blossomfall, and Cinderheart who were no longer eligible for winning Foxleap's heart. And Cherrypaw of course because at the moment, the young she-cat couldn't stand the sight of him.

It took twice as long to reach the ThunderClan camp and when Foxleap finally made it, the sun had already set and it was too late to talk to any she-cats. He didn't even bother going to the Jayfeather's den and instead, limped straight to the warriors den. All Foxleap wanted to do was curl up in his nest and die. He flopped down on the moss bedding with a groan as his brother, who had a nest nearby, playfully flicked him with his long tail.

"So how'd it go, oh mighty Foxleap?" Foxleap merely grunted in response, too tired to actually say anything. "What, does the cold, hard truth really hurt that bad?"

"Leave me alone, Spiderbutt," Foxleap sniffed indignantly. "I only got to talk to like, two she-cats today. That's only four in total who don't like my personality."

"Make that five," Sandstorm called from across the den.

"Whatever," Foxleap huffed. "I still have a moon left to complete the challenge so don't get your hopes up."

"I should be saying that to you," Spiderleg sniggered. "You're the one who's finally going to get their ego bumped down a few notches."

"Please, my ego fits my skill level. Neither need bumping down."

_But does it, _Foxleap questioned himself, _Maybe Spiderleg is right. What if I'm not as great as I think I am?_

A split second later, Foxleap snorted at the audacity. _Yeah, right._

**A/N: Chapter two is up! Follow/favorite/review if you liked it and if you didn't, you may as well do those things anyway ;P So the story belongs to the lovely tr1xx777 and you guys should go check her out. **

**Question of the Day**

**If you could change one thing in the books, what would you change?**


	3. Chapter 3

**Reviews**

**Guest: Me too but I have to say that there are a few cats I prefer over them. **

**Snowsong: Haha he has his work cut out for him. And here you go :)**

**no name: Aw thanks but it can't be that good!**

**tr1xx777: Thanks and me too! Like Sootfur, Rainwhisker, Ashfur, and Honeyfern!**

Chapter Three

Day two and three were not any better than day one. To start, on the second day of Foxleap's 'hunting' Cherrypaw voiced her hatred for him, to which Poppyfrost agreed and said that he needed an attitude adjustment before he even _thought _about mentoring her kit again.

After that, Foxleap approached both Lilypaw and Seedpaw, just to see if they had any opinions of him yet and they both answered with, "I don't really know you well enough to make an opinion on you but based on what everyone else has been saying…" Foxleap didn't need to hear the rest of their sentences to know what everyone had been saying about him.

And then he approached Dovewing, who was known for her sweetness, but when she suspected Foxleap of hitting on her, she called him arrogant and stormed off to go find Bumblestripe.

Daisy and Brightheart weren't fans of the young tom either, to say the least. At least they were friendlier about it than some other cats who outright told him that they couldn't stand him.

To top it all off, Foxleap barely got a word in with Ivypool before the she-cat made some lame excuse and left to go hunting with Toadstep. It was safe to say that the second day was a disaster.

There was only a few cats left in ThunderClan, but he'd already overheard Millie, Briarlight, and Whitewing having a conversation about him so he skipped the three and moved onto Hazeltail. His last hope.

The she-cat was standing by the fresh-kill pile, examing a piece of prey that she thought had maggots in it. She pulled out the robin and dropped it in disgust, only to confirm that maggots were crawling all over the thing.

"Good nose," Foxleap complimented unenthusiastically. Hazeltail glanced up from the spoiled prey and when she saw that it was only Foxleap, her face fell.

"If you're going to hit on me, then don't even try. I've heard about how you've been jumping from she-cat to she-cat these past couple days," Hazeltail warned. "Honestly, I'm kind of offended that you went to _Daisy _before me."

"So you obviously don't like my personality then," Foxleap stated as the she cat picked the spoiled robin up by the wing and started carrying it out of the camp. He followed behind her, talking as they walked. "I just don't understand _why _no one likes me. I mean, I'm handsome, I'm one of the fastest in the Clan, and I'm an exceptional hunter and fighter… I'm pretty much the best at everything."

"That's your reason right there," Hazeltail snapped. She dropped the robin on the ground and dug a little hole to bury it in. When it was covered in dirt, she turned back to the warrior. "You're arrogant. You think you're better than everyone else and you're incredibly selfish."

"I'm not selfish!" Foxleap huffed and Hazeltail rolled her eyes.

"This morning when the fresh-kill pile was running low, you took the last good piece of prey," Hazeltail pointed out. "Briarlight hadn't eaten yet and when Millie asked for it, you said 'oh, I'll just catch some more later.'"

"So? I will catch some more!" Foxleap defended himself.

"It's almost sunset and all you've managed to accomplish is trying to flirt with more she-cats. In fact, I think this is the first time you left camp all day. You should have either given her the prey or gone out and caught Briarlight the biggest sparrow you could find," Hazeltail said. "I don't know what's gotten into you but you're driving everyone insane."

Foxleap growled under his breath and turned away. Just as he was leaving, he called back, "Thanks for your honest opinion, Hazeltail."

The gray and white she-cat didn't answer as he strolled back into camp. It was the first time that he was thankful that Spiderleg had given him a full moon to find someone. He never knew how much everyone actually despised him before this…

When he reached camp, Bramblestar was just exiting his den with Squirrelflight (both looking a little disheveled) and was probably going to announce who was going to the Gathering tonight. Foxleap's ears perked up as a plan formed in his mind. There were plenty of she-cats in the other three Clans who didn't hate him! If he found one, then this stupid challenge would be over and Foxleap would get to stop making a fool of himself in front of all the she-cats!

"Bramblestar!" Foxleap called as he raced up to the leader, "Can I go to the Gathering?"

Bramblestar blinked and looked around, as if to check if anyone would oppose. The last time a warrior begged to go to the Gathering, his foster-daughter killed someone and continued to cause an uproar at the same Gathering. Nobody seemed to look furious about Foxleap going so he nodded. "I suppose so."

"Great, thank you!" Foxleap bowed his head quickly and then bounded off to search for Spiderleg so he could rub this little piece of information in his face. Spiderleg was talking with his son, Toadstep, when Foxleap approached. "It looks like _someone _is about to lose a bet tonight."

Spiderleg smirked, "You convinced Bramblestar to let you go to the Gathering?"

"Yup," Foxleap replied proudly. "Four entire Clans can't hate me so this challenge is bound to be over by morning!"

"Challenge?" Toadstep looked confused, "Is that why you're going around and trying to mate with all the females?"

"I'm not trying to mate with them…" Foxleap muttered, "I just have to prove that one she-cat likes my personality."

Toadstep laughed. "That explains it. You're all everyone's been talking about for the past three days. You've somehow managed to annoy every female in ThunderClan more than you usually do. Trust me, the Clans already don't like us, I don't think your personality is going to help."

"It might!" Foxleap argued, "There has to be one she-cat out there who likes me."

Spiderleg sniggered, "Here's a word of advice: pick someone and stick with them. She-cats will just avoid you if they here you're trying to mate with everyone. It won't look so bad if you just find a friend in only one or two other cats."

"But I'm not trying to mate with anyone!" Foxleap wailed. He was so sick of everyone thinking that just wanted to sink his claws into everything that moved. Sure, he had thought about it, but it's not like he would actually do that! Especially with someone from another Clan. That was just wrong…

"He's just giving some friendly advice," Toadstep commented but the young tom still looked upset.

"Cats of ThunderClan," Bramblestar yowled and everyone excitedly raced over to Highledge to hear who was coming to the Gathering. "Along with myself and Squirrelflight, Foxleap, Spiderleg, Blossomfall, Thornclaw, Bumblestripe, Molepaw, Lilypaw, Sandstorm, Icecloud, Brackenfur, Hazeltail and Mousewhisker will be attending the Gathering. We will be leaving shortly."

Toadstep shot an envious look at Foxleap and Spiderleg. "I'll stay up so I can hear about what happened at the Gathering."

Spiderleg snorted, "Here, I'll tell you right now. Everyone's Clan is thriving, someone was made a warrior, someone else had kits, and Clan life has never been better. Foxleap will continue to fail at making a friend and we'll all laugh at his humiliating attempts."

"Just you wait, I'll prove to have the best personality in all the Clans," Foxleap announced up proudly. "Then we'll see whose laughing."

Toadstep looked at him blankly. "You realize that you just proved to be the most disliked tom in ThunderClan."

Well when he puts it like that, it actually kind of hurts.

Foxleap glanced over at the other ThunderClan warriors to see that everyone was getting ready to go. He said goodbye to Toadstep and went on his way. He walked beside Icecloud, all while thinking about how he was going to do this tonight. When his sister started talking, he didn't even pay attention because he was so caught up in his own thoughts.

"Foxleap, have you ever been…in love?" Icecloud asked.

"Yeah," Foxleap nodded, not even knowing what he was agreeing to. At the Gathering, he would need to choose his 'victim' carefully. It couldn't be someone who would fall for his good looks or that would be awful, to say the least. For the she-cat that is, he would _never _fall in love with a cat from another Clan. Maybe an elder? Nah, they could be pretty rude and he wouldn't be able to build up any kind of friendship because he would never see them on border patrol.

"Really?" Icecloud cocked her head. When her brother didn't respond, she assumed he didn't want to talk about it. "Well, hypothetically speaking, what if this she-cat that you liked, might have liked another tom? Would you act on it?"

"Of course," Foxleap replied. If he was focused on the chance of meeting them over a patrol, then that meant RiverClan was out. So he'd have to stick with either WindClan or ShadowClan. Obviously not an apprentice because they were more annoying and impulsive than he was.

"So you're saying that you would tell this other tom to stay away? You would say something like, 'hey, Ivypool, stay away from Toadstep.' But uh, with different cats," Icecloud clarified and once again, her brother nodded. She hadn't meant to let the names slip but Foxleap must not have noticed. "Thanks, Foxleap! Your advice is great!"

Icecloud bounded away and Foxleap finally came out of his little zone. What had she said? He was only agreeing to whatever she was saying to keep her occupied while he planned. Oh well, it probably wasn't important.

ThunderClan finally reached the island as the plan and criteria finally sorted itself out in his head. He'd need a she-cat around the same age as him, in either WindClan or ShadowClan. They'd have to be strong-willed, so they had no chance of falling in love with him, but still friendly enough.

Foxleap searched for his brother and when he spotted Spiderleg, told him everything he had thought of. Even though Spiderleg was the one who made the bet, he still wanted to help Foxleap out. Not because he wanted the younger tom to win, but because he wanted to show him that he wasn't as amazing as he thought he was. Even though a big difference hadn't been made in the past few days, Foxleap might still learn from the experience and deflate his ego a little.

RiverClan and WindClan were the only ones at the Gathering so far and they were still waiting on ShadowClan. Together, Foxleap and Spiderleg scanned the Clans to search for the perfect friend for Foxleap.

"What about Furzepelt?" Spiderleg suggested. Foxleap immediately shook his head.

"We've met before and let's just say we didn't get along well," Foxleap shuddered at the memory. It was a moon after the battle with the Dark Forest and when he saw Furzepelt at the Gathering, he may have asked what a traitor like her was still doing in the Clans. A cloud ended up covering the moon before a fight broke out but he still had Furzepelt's murderous glare imprinted into his memory.

Spiderleg shook his head. He wasn't even going to ask. "How about Sunstrike? She's nice enough."

"Uh, we may have had a little spat at the border once or twice. Okay, new rule: it has to be someone I haven't met before," Foxleap said and Spiderleg rolled his eyes. It made sense though. Anyone who met him probably already had a bad impression of him.

"Have you met Sedgewhisker or Heathertail?" Spiderleg asked and Foxleap nodded to both of them. "What about Swallowtail?"

"Who?" Foxleap asked bluntly and Spiderleg found a swell of victory. Finally!

"She's Sedgewhisker's sister. She's nice enough but has a bit of a sharp tongue. Very loyal and I always see her on border patrols so she's probably very dedicated to being the best warrior she can be," Spiderleg explained with a grin on his face. Foxleap found like he just found his perfect target but it couldn't have worked out better for Spiderleg.

What Spiderleg _forgot _to mention was that Swallowtail had a fierce, no-nonsense attitude and wouldn't be afraid to put Foxleap in his place. If anyone was to knock Foxleap's ego down a few notches, this was the cat to do it.

"Well, here I go," Foxleap shot Spiderleg a sly look as he sauntered up to the dark gray she-cat. She was sitting alone, waiting for the Gathering to start. Perfect. "You must be Swallowtail."

Swallowtail glanced over to Foxleap, little interest shown on her face. "And you're Foxtail."

Foxleap looked offended, "Actually, it's Fox_leap."_

Swallowtail looked like she didn't care, "Sorry, I only know you by your reputation. You're the one that tried to mate with every she-cat in your Clan, right?"

Foxleap felt his ears burn but he couldn't show his embarrassment. He said, "No, that was my brother Spiderleg. He doesn't really know how to stick with one mate."

As if to prove it, Foxleap nodded his head over to Spiderleg, who was deep in conversation with Petalfur and Dawnpelt. Swallowtail still looked a little skeptical but she eased up a little. "That makes sense then. Sorry for jumping to conclusions."

Foxleap flicked his tail, "No worries. So… do you come here often?" _Why did I just say that?_

Swallowtail sniggered at that, "Aaand it totally was you who flirted with all the females. I still don't get how you're talking to me after being rejected by everyone in your Clan."

Foxleap smirked, "Let's just say I'm persistent. And for the record, I wasn't trying to mate with them, I was checking to see if any of them liked my personality."

"Did they?" Swallowtail asked, curiously.

Foxleap's face fell, "No."

Swallowtail had to stifle her laughter as Blackstar stepped forward to start the Gathering. They were standing near the back so nobody would really mind if they talked. "So then why are you still trying with me?"

"Who said I was trying anything with you?" Foxleap countered." I just wanted to keep a lonely cat company, you're the one who's making all the assumptions."

"Okay, Fox_tail. _Whatever you say," Swallowtail teased and Foxleap glared at her in annoyance.

They tuned into what the leaders were saying just in time to hear Bramblestar mention the badger they chased out of ThunderClan territory at the beginning of the moon. The patrol that chased off the badger was made up of Lionblaze, Ivypool, Thornclaw and Molepaw, but that didn't stop Foxleap from leaning over to Swallowtail and whispering, "I was one of the ones who chased it off. And when I say one of them, I mean it was mainly me."

He expected her to look up at him with admiration, or at least look a little impressed, but instead, she just looked annoyed. "So? The thing could have run onto WindClan territory, then I'll be the one chasing it off."

Okay, that didn't work as well as he thought.

"Uh, by chased off, I meant I killed it." _I didn't mean to say that! _

Swallowtail looked up at him, not an ounce of belief shining in her eyes. "Yeah, and I can fly."

Annoyance pricked at Foxleap's pelt "What, you don't think I could kill a badger?" he asked.

"No," Swallowtail answered flatly. "I could believe if Lionblaze or Bramblestar did but you? No way."

"I'll have you know that I'm one of the strongest warrior in the Clan," Foxleap huffed. It wasn't true at all but he believed it 100%.

Swallowtail snorted, but didn't say anything else as Mistystar spoke.

"RiverClan is thriving. Prey is plentiful and Minnowtail just moved into the nursery and is expecting her first litter," Mistystar announced. Foxleap knew Minnowtail a little but didn't know she had a mate. He glanced over at her to see if she might have been sitting with a RiverClan tom, but all he saw was Owlclaw from ShadowClan who was standing stiffly beside her. He turned and spoke in a hushed voice but Foxleap could see the betrayal on his face.

Foxleap turned to Swallowtail just as the Gathering came to a close, "Swallowtail, what do you think about my…personality?"

"Personality?" Swallowtail repeated. "Well I guess you're a little full of yourself and you tell lies to try and impress other but, all in all, you're not that bad."

"So you like my personality?" Foxleap perked up.

"I'm indifferent. We'll see how I feel about you by the next Gathering," Swallowtail shrugged as she walked away, without even uttering a goodbye.

Foxleap wanted to yell out in frustration. Even if it was the best response he's gotten so far, it still wasn't what he wanted. And the bet ended by the next Gathering so Foxleap wouldn't even be able to win if he managed to make Swallowtail like him by then. Just to make everything a little more frustrating, Spiderleg padded up.

"So how'd it go?" his brother asked.

"She said that she was 'indifferent.' She doesn't hate me but she doesn't actually like me either. Now I have to either convince someone else in ThunderClan that I'm not as bad as they think, or I have to go on every single border patrol and hope that I run into her," Foxleap growled. "This sucks!"

As the two toms walked away, Spiderleg couldn't help but smile. Finally, there was someone who would put Foxleap in his place.

**A/N: And the plot thickens! ...kind of. Anyway, the story idea STILL belongs to tr1xx777. **

**Question of the Day**

**What is your favorite genre to read?**


	4. Chapter 4

**EradrinSkyleaf - Wow, you basically like everything! I think it really depends on the mood I'm in. Like one day I might just want to read horror and the next I want to read something that will make me cry... I don't really cry though...**

**hollyleaf1122 - haha I hoped someone would get that because when I was writing I wasn't sure if everyone would remember that scene right away! I don't read a lot of fantasy but I love the other two genres!**

**Anova - good choice, you know what you like :3**

**Omhn - thanks! Here's an update, just for you!**

* * *

Chapter Four

The days following the Gathering were about as successful as the ones before. Foxleap continued to try his paw with the she-cats but they all either A) laughed at him or B) bluntly rejected him. The only cat he had any luck with was Swallowtail who was 'indifferent' about him. But that was the only break he'd caught so he had to take it.

"Bramblestar, can I go on border patrol?" Foxleap asked and the dark brown warrior stared down at him with confused eyes.

"Foxleap, I appreciate all the border patrols you've been going on but this you've been on every one since morning... what's going on?" Bramblestar questioned. He had heard the rumors of Foxleap doing more of his stupid challenges again but this time it was making everyone uncomfortable. Except for Spiderleg that is who seemed happier than usual.

"I just want to be a better warrior," Foxleap lied. He was already the best warrior in the Clan so why would he need to be better?

"The Clan needs more than just border patrols, Foxleap. Cherrypaw is still angry at you so why don't you try to make it up to her by catching her some prey?" Foxleap nearly rolled his eyes at the idea.

"It doesn't matter if Cherrypaw is angry at me or not, she's my apprentice so she'll just have to deal with it," Foxleap snapped. It was true that the young she-cat was blatantly ignoring her mentor but Foxleap figured that she'd get over it eventually. It wasn't like she could go her whole life hating him.

"Just go hunting Foxleap," Bramblestar ordered. Foxleap huffed and stormed away.

_Stupid Bramblestar! He's ruining all my chances of winning this challenge! _Foxleap though angrily to himself. Swallowtail was literally his last hope and he hadn't seen her on one border patrol all day, even though he'd been on three already.

Foxleap padded out of camp with a scowl on his face. He started towards the ShadowClan border when he stopped dead in his tracks, the realization hitting him like a rockslide; he could just hunt near the WindClan border.

The frown on the toms face flipped and his pace picked up as he reversed direction. This was probably even better than border patrol because he would end up spending more time near WindClan anyway. He reached the border within minutes but there wasn't a cat in sight.

The scent of squirrel drifted into his nose and he figured he might actually hunt while he's waiting for Swallowtail. Spiderleg said he'd seen her on a lot of border patrols but then why wasn't she out here today?

Foxleap stalked forward with his belly just scraping the dead leaves on the ground. He could see the red, bushy tail of his prey as it scuttled around the base of a tree, searching for nuts and seeds. One step... two steps... lunge!

Foxleap's claws sank into the squirrel and before it could let out a scream, sharp fangs had already sank into it's throat. Foxleap smiled at the clean kill; his mother would have been proud.

Foxleap closed his eyes and placed one paw on the dead squirrel, "Thank you StarClan for this food that you've blessed ThunderClan with," he whispered the quick prayer and buried it under a small layer of dirt.

Foxleap may act a little cocky at times, sometimes even a little disrespectful but the one thing he always did was thank StarClan for everything they've provided for him. Ferncloud had taught him that at a young age and her message had never slipped his mind.

_Every little thing is a blessing so be sure to thank your ancestors for them because things could be worse._

"Are you following me or something?" Foxleap whipped around to see the dark gray cat he had been waiting for. Swallowtail. She was stading alone on the other side of the stream that marked the ThunderClan-WindClan border.

"If you hadn't noticed, I was here first so it'd be you who's following me," Foxleap teased. "I'm just hunting."

"All of my Clanmates say they've seen you on every single border patrol so far," Swallowtail's eyes narrowed. She had definitely picked up on Foxleap's plan but he was never going to let her know that.

"What can I say, I'm just a reliable warrior." Foxleap smirked and puffed out his chest. Swallowtail scoffed and his ears instantly burned. He had just lost a few points with her and that could cost him the challenge. "I'm actually hunting for... Cherrypaw! She sprained her paw the other day."

Swallowtail's eyes softened and her ears dropped in worry. "Is she going to be okay? Will this affect her becoming a warrior?"

"Jayfeather says it'll take about a moon for her to heal but she'll be fine," Foxleap answered. "She just twisted her paw a little."

Swallowtail's eyes hardened, "A little twist wouldn't get her stuck in camp for a moon, Foxleap!"

Foxleap tuned her out as she lectured him on being more sympathetic. If he had known she was so uptight then he would have chosen a completely different cat to platonically seduce. Foxleap rolled his eyes and focused on his paws. If he tried to look a little shameful then maybe she would just shut up.

"Foxleap!" Swallowtail screamed.

"Okay, I'm sorry! I'll apologize to Cherrypaw-"

"Look out!" Before she could even finish the word, Foxleap felt his body being thrown forward and claws rip into his flesh. He let out a quick yelp of pain and surprise as he landed roughly on the ground. He saw the black and white striped face of a badger just in time to roll on of the way. He could hear the sickening snap of twigs under the badgers paws and a shudder ran down his spine.

That could have been his bones.

Foxleap leapt to his feet and jumped over the stream to Swallowtail's side. Blood was dripping from the three long cuts in his side but he could barely feel it because of the adrenaline pumping through his veins. The badger splashed through the stream as the two waited to make their move when it was closer.

"I thought you said you drove it off!" Swallowtail hissed.

"I thought they did," Foxleap snarled.

The badger was huge and he could see small scratches littering it's nose. It was definitely the same one that Thornclaw, Ivypool, Molepaw, and Lionblaze had driven off at the beginning of the moon but now it was back with a vengeance.

It launched itself forward and the two warriors parted, sidestepping and raking their claws down it's side as it passed. The badger whipped around to face Foxleap and not even a second passed before it was blundering towards the tom again.

"It must recognize your scent. You distract it while I land the blows," Swallowtail ordered. Foxleap couldn't help but think that he had the shorter end of the stick but he couldn't do anything but follow her orders.

"C'mon badger breath," Foxleap taunted as he landed a quick blow to the ugly striped face and quickly darted away. The badger's thick claws just missed his flank. "You missed, ugly!"

The badger lunged and this time Foxleap wasn't quick enough to dodge it. It landed heavily on Foxleap just as Swallowtail jumped on the creatures back. As Foxleap struggled under it's thick claws, Swallowtail raked her claws down it's back. "Get off him before I shred you to pieces!"

Foxleap batted at the badgers stomach but he could feel his strength draining. It was crushing him under it's body and he had fresh bite marks littering his chest and shoulders. The badger lifted it's huge paw and Foxleap squeezed his eyes shut. _This is it..._

But the blow never came. All he heard was a sickening _pop _and an agony filled roar. The badger rolled off Foxleap and his eyes shot open. One of the badger's eyes was closed and a stream of blood was coming from it. Swallowtail was bravely battling the badger with a furious look on her face.

Foxleap shot to his feet and darted towards the badger. He tackled the monster, head on, landing a flurry of angry scratches to anything he could hit.

The battle wasn't long and within moments, the badger shook both of them off and blundered away, along the river and hopefully away from the territories all together. Once it's ugly black and white pelt was out of sight, Foxleap finally started to feel the pain of the wounds it had caused.

Everything started spinning and the last thing he saw was Swallowtail's worried face before he collapsed.

* * *

Swallowtail watched as Foxleap's body hit the ground. He was bleeding in multiple places and his cuts looked deep. Swallowtail felt her heart plummet as she raced to the cocky toms side. Before this, she hadn't really cared much for the tom and even felt a tinge of dislike for him but if he hadn't been there to take the badgers hits, there's no doubt in her mind that Swallowtail would be dead.

"Foxleap?" Swallowtail nudged him but he didn't move. _Oh, StarClan, please don't let him be dead!_

Just as she thought it, she saw his chest slowly rise and relief washed over her. His breathing was shallow but he was breathing nonetheless.

"Swallowtail, what did you do?" The she-cat whirled around to see Harespring, Emberfoot, and Leaftail standing there with horrified expressions on their faces.

_They think I killed him! _Swallowtail thought and took a step back, nearly tripping over Foxleap's body. "No, it's not what you think! We were attacked by a badger but managed to drive it off! He's still alive."

Relief washed over the patrol's face. The new WindClan deputy stepped forward gently pulled Foxleap off the ground by the scruff. "We'd better get him back to WindClan so Kestrelflight can look at him. ThunderClan is too far and I'd rather not drag him through that thorn-ridden forest," Harespring sneered.

Emberfoot came by Foxleap's side and helped support the tom. His eyes opened briefly and he tried to stand on his own but only a few heartbeats passed before Foxleap went limp again. Leaftail padded by Swallowtail as they made a hurried pace to WindClan.

There were a few moments of silence before Leaftail finally asked, "Why were you alone with him?"

Swallowtail cringed at how bad this looked. She could be the most loyal cat in the entire Clan but one awkward meeting with a tom could send the worst impression to anyone. "I was hunting, spotted Foxleap and asked him what he was doing so close to WindClan when the badger attacked. Nothing happened."

Leaftail's amber eyes visibly lightened. "Good. I was worried this ThunderClan scum was bothering you."

_Sure, that's exactly what you were worried about. _Swallowtail thought bitterly in her head. It was no secret that Leaftail had a 'crush' on Swallowtail. But the gray she-cat didn't even believe his feelings were genuine; many moons ago, Emberfoot and Leaftail both had a 'battle' over who could win Swallowtail's sister, Sedgewhisker's, affection.

After Sedgewhisker chose Emberfoot, Leaftail clearly wanted to get back at her in some way. He figured making her jealous by mating with her sister was a good idea and from then, he spent every waking minute trying to seduce the gray she-cat. He just didn't know that Swallowtail had figured out his plan from the beginning.

The patrol reached WindClan within moments and entered the camp to be greeted by wide stares. "We were attacked by a badger. I managed to chase it away but he collapsed before he could get back to ThunderClan," Swallowtail explained.

Onestar stepped through the crowd to examine the young tom. "Bring him to Kestrelflight. Swallowtail, meet me in my den."

The crowd parted so Emberfoot and Harespring could drag Foxleap's body to the Medicine Cat den. Swallowtail watched as the limp, reddish-brown body disappeared in the den before turning to face Onestar.

She knew she would have to try to convince him that she wasn't secretly meeting up with Foxleap. Swallowtail wrinkled her nose at the thought as she followed her leader into his den.

There was _no way _she would ever meet up with someone from another Clan! Let alone Foxleap.

Or so she thought.

**Hehehe Swallowtail doesn't know what she's in for. And I checked out the Warriors Wiki and I'll have you know that I'm sufficiently pissed at Bramblestar's Storm. Let's just say that some cats die who were kind of needed for this story and others who were my favorites are also dead now... So let's just pretend that Bramblestar's Storm is NOT canon for now.**

**Also, 15 reviews?! That's about 5 reviews per chapter! I know I shouldn't ask anything of you guys but is there any way we could try for 22 reviews by the next chapter? Pretty please? :)**

**Question of the Day**

**Did you read Bramblestar's Storm yet? If so, **


	5. Chapter 5

**I am 100% sure that I have the best readers out there! I asked if we could get to 22 reviews and we passed that goal and for that, I am so thankful. I honestly love writing and having people who support me is so inspirational to say the least.**

**Stuffed Watermelon - Before I reply to everything you said, I just wanted to let you know that I love your username :) And thank you so much but I don't think it's one of the BEST :3 I still have a lot of improving to do. And haha Swallowtail knocks Foxleap's ego down a few notches so he isn't so arrogant! I do too! I wanted to give a cat that doesn't have a lot of attention, a unique attitude. **

**Starcloud - (for both reviews) You mean like have Sandstorm save the Clans instead of Firestar? That'd be pretty cool because the Erins don't make a lot of she-cat heroes! And how'd you read it before it came out? Did you like it? :)**

**Guest - me neither but I'm going to be honest with you, I haven't read a lot of the books after the Power of Three! I just read the chapter notes on Warriors Wiki :3**

**hollyleaf1122 - I heard about some huge mistake they made! Apparently the unedited version is going to become a collectors addition once they publish the 'good' version. I feel really bad for them though because having to republish a book must be humiliating... I get embarrassed when I miss a spelling error, let alone all those errors! But that's good, it must have been a good plotline because everyone seems to like it :)**

**EradrinSkyleaf - Thanks that means a lot! AND OH MY GOSH I KNOW! Reading the chapter notes, I wanted to slap every single one of the authors who helped write this -_- I wouldn't have minded them killing off so many characters, but it was the fact that it was my favorite underdogs that they killed off. I've always liked the minor characters more for some reason so I almost went in a fit when I found out!**

**Anova - Me neither, but do you think you're ever going to read it? I'm just pretending it doesn't exist for the sake of this story!**

**blackclaw - hehe maybe it is, maybe it isn't. But here's some more SwallowtailxFoxleap scenes just for you :P**

* * *

Chapter Five

Foxleap slowly blinked open his eyes to be greeted by light swarming his vision and a blurry shape hovering over him. The shape looked gray and he could just make out bright green eyes. A smile fell on Foxleap's face when he realized who it was, "Mom?"

The green eyes of Ferncloud narrowed, "No? It's Swallowtail you mousebrain!"

Foxleap blinked a few times and Ferncloud's green eyes were replaced by Swallowtail's amber ones. Embarrassment burned at Foxleap's ears as he shook his head to clear his thoughts. Swallowtail didn't even look like Ferncloud; the WindClan cat had amber eyes while Ferncloud had green and even though they both shared a gray pelt, Ferncloud was pale while Swallowtail was dark.

"What am I doing here?" he mumbled as he tried sitting up. When he tried to pull himself up, pain rippled down his side and he collapsed again.

"You were attacked by a badger. A WindClan patrol helped bring you back here and Kestrelflight says you have to stay here at least three more days before you're in good enough shape to travel. We just sent a patrol to explain it to Bramblestar and they should be back soon."

"But what about my squirrel?" Foxleap yelped and shot up. He only stayed up for a heartbeat before he tumbled down again. "I buried a squirrel before we got attacked and now it'll have gone to waste!"

Swallowtail stared blankly at Foxleap. Finally she mewed, "It's just a squirrel, Foxleap."

"But it's against the Warrior Code to waste prey and-"

"For StarClan's sake, fine!" Swallowtail yelled, causing a few cats to glance over. The Medicine Cat den was really only a large boulder that provided slight protection. The herbs were all stored in little cracks and crevices but the 'den' provided no privacy. "I'll send someone to get your stupid mouse."

"Crouchpaw, Larkpaw, come here," Swallowtail ordered two nearby apprentices. One was a ginger tom and the other was a pale brown she-cat. "Our _guest _here caught a rabbit and buried it yesterday. Can you go fetch it for your highness?"

Foxleap ducked his head at Swallowtail's sarcastic tone. He was Crouchpaw and Larkpaw both look at him with amused glances but they nodded and asked where it was anyway. He explained what the tree looked like that he buried it under.

"We'll be back soon," Crouchpaw mewed and bolted. Within seconds, he was out of the camp and Foxleap couldn't help but be impressed at how fast he was. Even though Foxleap was obviously the fastest in ThunderClan, he had to admit that racing with WindClan would be a struggle.

"We have our assessments today so soon enough, you won't be able to order us around any more," Larkpaw added.

Swallowtail scoffed. "That's what you think."

The tabby apprentice shot her a half heart glare before turning and running after her brother. She wasn't nearly as fast as Crouchpaw but compared to ThunderClan, she was still pretty quick.

"So what am I supposed to do for the next few days?" Foxleap grumbled as he set his chin on his paws. He could always try his best to win over Swallowtail but then again, if that turned out like the rest of his attempts then he was losing precious time for other she-cats.

"Rest. You got mauled by that badger so there's not a lot you can do," Swallowtail answered. "The thing ripped you to shreds."

"It didn't 'rip me to shreds.' I was distracting it and you were being too slow on attacking it," Foxleap huffed. Swallowtail narrowed her eyes.

"I saved your life," she retorted.

"I saved yours! If I hadn't been there, you'd be dead," Foxleap said confidently.

The fur along Swallowtail's back bristled as she glared at the reddish brown tom. "Excuse me but who was the one who clawed out it's eyeball? Oh, that's right. It was me."

Foxleap made a face as he remembered the popping sound he heard from the day before, during the attack. He hadn't thought anything of it but now he realized it must have been the sound of the badger's eyeball coming out. "Ew, you cut out it's eye?"

Swallowtail relaxed a little. "Well I had to chase it off somehow."

"Yeah but now there's just a random eyeball rolling around WindClan! Someone is going to come across it and think it's a cat eye!" Foxleap cringed as he pictured tripping over the eye.

"We should put it in someone's nest to teach them a lesson," Swallowtail sniggered and Foxleap laughed.

"That'd give them nightmares for seasons!" Foxleap added and the two broke out in fits of giggles. "That reminds me of when I was an apprentice and I tried telling the other kits that rabbit droppings were delicious berries. It almost worked until Jayfeather found out and threatened to tell one of the queens."

Swallowtail playfully cuffed Foxleap over the ear and said, "What an evil cat! You're almost as bad as Scourge."

Foxleap puffed out his chest. "Please. Scourge has nothing on me."

Just then, Crouchpaw and Larkpaw entered the camp, a squirrel dangling in the latter's jaws. They trotted over to where Swallowtail and Foxleap and tossed the dirty squirrel at Foxleap's paws. "It's all dirty and gross," Crouchpaw said, making a face before padding away. Larkpaw giggled once before running after her brother.

Foxleap shook all the dirt and moss hanging from the kill before settling it down to eat. It was stiff and cold but Foxleap didn't mind. It would be awkward to eat something that WindClan caught for him anyway. He didn't mind taking their prey but he didn't want all the glares that came with it.

"Hey Swallowtail, want to go hunting?"

Foxleap looked up to see a broad shouldered, tabby tom with narrow amber eyes. The tom was obviously not as handsome as Foxleap but he was a close second.

"No thanks, Kestrelflight gave me some poppy seeds and I'm still a little drowsy," Swallowtail smiled apologetically and Foxleap shot the tom a smirk.

Kestrelflight had given Foxleap poppy seeds to deal with the pain and he felt a little drowsy when waking up but was fine now. If Swallowtail even got anything for her nonexistent injuries, they would have worn off by now. So that could only mean Swallowtail was blowing Leaftail off for Foxleap, meaning _he won._

"Okay, maybe next time then," Leaftail dipped his head. He sent one vicious look at Foxleap before trotting away and out of camp. Foxleap turned to Swallowtail with a smug grin on his face.

"What do you want Fox_tail_?" Swallowtail snapped.

"You didn't go hunting with him," Foxleap meowed. "Because you were too busy talking to me. So that must mean you like my personality!"

"Or hate his," Swallowtail added and Foxleap's face fell. "He's been trying to mate with me for moons and he just doesn't understand that I want nothing to do with him."

_Ugh, she-cat problems! I don't want to hear about this! _Foxleap thought bitterly. The only part of this conversation he cared about was when she said she may not have liked his personality. Foxleap needed to know if he was wasting his time or not. "So... that means you don't like my personality then?"

Swallowtail rolled her eyes, "What is with you and your personality? Are you having a mid-life crisis or something?"

Foxleap stared at her with his jaw dropped and his eyes blazing. "I am _not _having a crisis, let alone half-way through my life yet! Have some respect!"

"Okay, okay, calm down, Foxtail, I was just joking," Swallowtail said, playfully cuffing him over the ear. "You sure are a hothead though."

_Does she like hotheads? Or should I try to be more cool and collected? _Foxleap thought and tried to see if he could see any signs of dislike on Swallowtail's face. He'd learned to recognize the signs from all the times he'd been rejected. But there weren't any clear signs, maybe a bit of annoyance but that could very well be directed at Leaftail.

"I'm not a hothead... I'm just passionate," Foxleap retorted. Amusement flickered in Swallowtail's eyes and he could see the annoyance ebbing from her features. Okay, so maybe she was a little peeved about his miniature temper tantrum. It was fine, he would just have to learn how to be a little more cool so he wouldn't scare Swallowtail away.

_Am I seriously thinking about changing for a she-cat? _Foxleap thought bitterly. _Nah, I don't have to completely change, I'll just _tweak _my personality a bit so I win this stupid challenge quicker._

Silence fell over the pair and Foxleap felt panic rise up in his chest. What was he supposed to say? He couldn't let Swallowtail think he was boring! What did Icecloud always say she wanted toms to do... oh right! She always complained how toms never _listen _to her or ask her personal questions. _Thank you, Icecloud!_

"So what's your story?" Foxleap asked smoothly. He immediately felt himself swell with pride at such a smooth line. That was something that said 'hey, I care about you, but I still want to do the nasty with you.'

"My story?" Swallowtail repeated. "I'm the regular she-cat I guess. I had two sisters, one is Sedgewhisker and the other was named Thistlepaw but she... Now all I have is Sedgewhisker."

For once in his short life, Foxleap felt a pang of empathy. He knew what it was like to lose someone you love but to lose them at such a young age must have been heart shattering. Death was always a risk for living the life of a warrior but if a few had to die to protect a Clan, then so be it. Life goes on.

"WindClan is everything to me. I couldn't imagine a life without the fields or sleeping under Silverpelt every night. I'd die a thousand times for this Clan," Swallowtail finished and Foxleap slowly nodded.

"That was pretty deep," he mewed. "But not exactly a story. Your life can't be that bland."

Swallowtail looked like she wanted to strike him for a second but instead just huffed. "I was giving the shortened version. I just don't feel like telling my story to a complete stranger."

Complete stranger. That didn't sound like progress at all.

"Well then what's your story?" Swallowtail reversed the subject on Foxleap.

"Icecloud and I were the last litter of Ferncloud and Dustpelt. We were the only litter that every kit is alive today too, may I add. I grew up with good friends, supportive parents, and a great mentor. But then again, that's the shortened version," Foxleap teased.

"What was Ferncloud like? I heard about her at a Gathering," Swallowtail asked curiously and Foxleap's face fell. He did _not _want to talk about Ferncloud with Swallowtail... not yet at least.

"Uh..."

"Foxleap!" The tom whipped his head up to see Onestar padding towards him. "Good, you're awake. I'm glad you're feeling better but I still need to talk with you. Swallowtail, do you mind?"

"Not at all," Swallowtail dipped her head before scurrying off. Foxleap watched as the gray she-cat greeted another cat, said a few words, before they both trotted off, out of camp. He felt relieved and disappointed that she had left all at once but he could only justify one of the feelings.

Foxleap turned back to Onestar. "What did you need?"

"Your story, from the beginning."

**Hm so Foxleap doesn't like talking about his mother? Strange... **

**Anyway, like every author, I have a thousand wheels turning in my head and I've already started planning another story that takes place after Bramblestar's Storm. There are some queens that are expecting at the end of BStorm so I thought it'd be fun if I had a little challenge of my own. Basically, anyone who wants to create a cat, review or PM me your cat.**

**I'll cross out the kits who are named things like Crystalkit or Shiningkit and then pick the rest at random. Each chapter, I will reveal the kit and author who was chosen and we can have a longer discussion about the kits. So it will be completely random and everyone will get a fair chance. Only one kit per author and I'm so sorry but guests aren't eligible because I can't get in contact with you and I don't know if it's just one reader logging out and adding more kits so at least one of their OC's is chosen.**

**Question of the Day**

**Which cat do you want to see more of in The Challenge?**


	6. Chapter 6

**Sorry this is a day late, I was out of town :3**

**Again, I'll explain the little contest I'm having. Basically, you send me a kit via PM (reviews are welcome too but PM is preferred) and after I have a list of suitable kits, I'll start drawing names and they'll be in my next story (It's going to be a series ranging from 3-8 books so your kit will definitely make an appearance). It will be completely random and fair but please only send in up to 2 kits. (I had it one kit before but figured there'd be a larger selection with 2 kits)**

**There are lots of open spaces because there are a lot of expecting Queens at the end of Bramblestar's Storm. Just provide a name and description and in a few weeks, drawing names will begin :) So far we have four kits already submitted so hurry because the faster you submit a kit, the better the chance you have of seeing it in my upcoming book.**

**Reviews**

**Lazy Watermelon - Uh, I don't know if I can fit anyone named Sunstream in but I can try?**

**30th reviewer - thanks for understanding! I wanted to make something to reward my lovely readers with but I didn't know how to do it fairly. And I still have to see but probably around ten or a little under?**

**QLKwriter - Thank you, that means a lot!**

**Guest - Thanks! Here's a chapter!**

**Sky cloud - I'll definitely be adding more fluff this chapter but I can't have them immediately fall in love or anything! That would mean Foxleap would win the Challenge too soon and not learn anything.**

**Embersky - Thank you and me too! Swallowtail just doesn't take any of Foxleap's crap!**

**tr1xx777 - Yeah, I'll try to add more of the other Clans to even it out a bit and I've already added a (unnoticeable at the moment) subplot that has to do with RiverClan and ShadowClan so they'll have a bigger part later on in the book.**

**EradrinSkyleaf - Thanks but things are always changing so don't get too comfortable ;)**

* * *

**And also, this is a pretty big note but I might start updating on not only Saturdays, but also Wednesdays. I feel like there's too long of a wait between chapters and sometimes I have more than one chapter ready for updating. So this is what I'm going to do: if I have more than one chapter ready, I'll update on Wednesday but if I only have my Saturday chapter ready, then I'll update then. **

* * *

Chapter Six

Foxleap yawned as he sat up. It had been a long time since he'd gotten a rest like he had last night. He fell asleep before nightfall and woke up around Sun-high. He would never have been able to do that in ThunderClan!

Yesterday, Onestar and Harespring had grilled him with questions about all the events of last night. They were either really untrusting or Swallowtail had done something to make them doubt her loyalty because in ThunderClan, Bramblestar would have never asked if he was meeting up with a cat from another Clan. Foxleap obviously answered that it was pure coincidence that he and Swallowtail had run into each other but it was annoying to think an entire Clan thought he was secretly meeting with Swallowtail.

Speaking of which... "Hey Crouchpaw, where's Swallowtail?"

Crouchpaw and Larkpaw shot him a sly look. "Why, can't you spend a few moments without your mate around?"

Foxleaps ears burned but he refused to shy away. "Swallowtail isn't my mate, she's just an acquaintance."

"An acquaintance who you spent all day gossiping with," Larkpaw pointed out and Foxleap growled. These two were so frustrating to be around and he had only known them for a day! "I wonder what your kits will look like..."

"Well I'm no expert but I'd be guessing gray and red," Foxleap spat and the apprentice broke out in fits of giggles. He rolled is eyes and tried his best to tune them out. _Please don't tell me I was like that when I was an apprentice..._

"Swallowtail is out hunting with Gorsetail and Weaselfur," Larkpaw finally said. "They'd better get back soon though because we're becoming warriors today."

"You'd better stop acting like kits then," Foxleap teased and they both shot him a nasty glare but he could see amusement flickering behind them.

"And you'd better stop acting like you're part of this Clan," a new voice spat. Foxleap turned around to see a familiar brown tom with a dark gray tom behind him. Leaftail and Crowfeather. "We've all noticed you were getting a little too comfortable with my _mate _yesterday. You better cut it out before a badger isn't the only thing attacking you."

"Please, I could take both of you on, with or without these wounds," Foxleap snarled. Part of it was all the herbs talking but the other part actually believed he could take on two experienced warriors like Crowfeather and Leaftail. "Wouldn't want to make a fool of yourself in your own Clan."

Leaftail lashed his tail. "Shut up, coward! All I'm saying is that you better stay away from Swallowtail or else I'll shred you to pieces. She's my mate and-"

"This is news to me." The crowd that had gathered around the three all turned around to see Swallowtail, Weaselfur, and Gorsetail and standing at the edge if camp. Gorsetail looked nervous, Weaselfur looked like a kit about to eat his first mouse, and Swallowtail looked furious. Leaftail's entire face fell and Foxleap couldn't help but burst out in laughter. "So I'm your mate now, huh?"

"Uh, well I thought..." Leaftail trailed off and ducked his head. "Sorry."

"You'd better be sorry," she snapped. And then her eyes brightened with a new rage. "What is wrong with you two? Foxleap _saved _me from a badger and two days later you scream at him for it? A real warrior would have thanked him with a feast, not yell at him as if he's a kit! You two should be ashamed of yourselves!"

_Yeah, go Swallowtail! _Foxleap cheered. He could see that other members of WindClan also looked like they wanted to chant and cheer for her. They must have been pretty sick of Leaftail walking over everyone.

"Now go do something useful like cleaning the elders of ticks," Swallowtail finished. Both toms made a face.

"We're not apprentices!" Crowfeather objected. "If the elders need cleaning then that's what Larkpaw and Crouchpaw are for!"

"They're more warriors than you'll ever be," Swallowtail spat with distaste. The toms looked angry and shocked. Leaftail opened his mouth to say something but Crowfeather shot him a frosty glare. They stormed out of camp and away from Swallowtail, Foxleap, and the crowd.

"Speaking of warriors..." Everyone turned to see Onestar and Harespring standing on and beside a giant boulder in the centre of camp. I think it's called Tallrock; it's the equivalent of Highledge in ThunderClan. "Crouchpaw, Larkpaw, please step forward."

Larkpaw and Crouchpaw stepped forward, both shaking in excitement but the tom doing a little better to hide it. "I Onestar, call upon my warrior ancestors to look down on these two cats. They have trained hard to learn the ways of the Warrior Code and I commend them to you as a warrior in turn. Larkpaw, do you promise to uphold the Warrior Code and to fight for your Clan, even at the cost of your life?"

Larkpaw nodded quickly and squeaked, "I do."

"Then by the powers of StarClan, I give you your warrior name, Larkpaw, from this moment on, you will be known as Larkwing. StarClan honors your enthusiasm and determination." Larkwing dipped her head and stepped back as her brother took her place, closer to Onestar.

The ceremony went on with Crouchpaw becoming Crouchfoot for his energy and loyalty to WindClan. Once it was done, Foxleap joined along with the chanting, "Larkwing, Crouchfoot, Larkwing, Crouchfoot!"

The two new warriors stood tall and basked in the glory. Foxleap remembered when he first became a warrior for his bravery and skill. Icecloud had been right behind him and for a second, instead of seeing Crouchfoot and Larkwing up there, he saw himself and his sister.

_Icecloud... _He quite missed his sister. He wondered what she was doing right now. _Probably crying about how her favorite brother disappeared._

Cats crowded around Crouchfoot and Larkwing, and Foxleap was about to go join them but for one, his body was still aching, and two, he would feel weird walking up and congratulating them like he was just another WindClan warrior. Even if Leaftail and Crowfeather were being mousebrains, they were still kind of right. Foxleap _was _getting a little too comfortable in the enemy Clan.

"Here, I caught you something," Swallowtail said and dropped a hare in front of Foxleap after the ceremony finished. Crouchfoot and Larkwing ran off to go do whatever new WindClan warriors do after their ceremony. "You haven't eaten since that nasty squirrel yesterday so I thought we could share this."

_She's warming up to me! Should I ask her if she likes me yet? No, I have to play it cool for now so it's a definite thing. _Foxleap thought. "That squirrel wasn't nasty, it was delicious!"

Swallowtail made a face. "It was in the ground for an entire day. Not even Webfoot would have eaten that and he lost his sense of taste!"

Foxleap scowled as he took a bite of the hare. Okay, so maybe the squirrel was a little cold and stringy but he'd eat a thousand of those if it meant being back in ThunderClan.

"Swallowtail, Swallowtail, can we share?"

Foxleap glanced over to see four kits bouncing towards them. There were three toms and one she-cat.

"I suppose so," Swallowtail muttered, pushing the prey closer to the kits. Even when they took their biggest bites, they barely took anything out of the hare. "Foxleap, this is Featherkit, Hootkit, Oatkit and Slightkit. Kits, this is Foxleap."

"You're the one who killed the badger, right?" one kits asked. He was the biggest of the four with jet black fur and a flash of white on his chest. Swallowtail had said his name was Slightkit.

"Uh, right," Foxleap nodded and Swallowtail shot him a glare but didn't say anything.

"That's so cool, I want to be just like you when I grow up!" Featherkit, a gray tabby she-cat, squeaked. "Maybe Sedgewhisker would let us go look for badgers?"

Swallowtail snorted, "You've never even caught a moth, let alone a badger. Nobody would let you go look for badgers even when you're a warrior." The kits huffed but didn't say anything else. Instead, they all grabbed the biggest bites their mouths could hold and stormed away, probably to go beg Sedgewhisker if they could try fighting a badger.

"So is Sedgewhisker their mother?" Foxleap asked. He was kind of confused because there weren't any other Queens and he thought Sedgewhisker was expecting her first litter.

"No, Hootkit, Oatkit, and Featherkit were Ashfoot's before she died. Slightkit's mother, Sunstrike, died along with his sister. Now Sedgewhisker takes care of them," Swallowtail explained and the tom winced. That must have been harsh on them, especially Slightkit. He knew what it was like to lose a loved one but losing not only your mother, but also your brother must be tough.

"That's got to be rough," Foxleap admitted. "At least they seem like they're doing okay, I mean look at how happy they ar." The pair glanced over to the nursery where the kits had disappeared to see it was empty with only Emberfoot and Sedgewhisker by it.

"Where'd they go?" Swallowtail frowned, sitting up. "They were just there a second ago."

Foxleap sat up, wincing as his wounds starched and shifted. A small cut even opened but it didn't look like any of the big, severe wounds did. His eyes swept around the camp, looking for any sign of the four kits but they weren't there. It wasn't like anyone else had missed them yet.

"Sedgewhisker, where are the kits?" Swallowtail called and her sister glanced up. She looked around but when she couldn't find the kits, her eyes filled up in alarm.

"I thought they were with you!" Sedgewhisker cried. She dove towards the nursery and basically ripped it to shreds, looking for four tiny balls of fur. Emberfoot was right by her side, circling around Tallrock for the missing kits.

"What if they aren't in camp?" Foxleap wondered aloud. "There aren't any camp walls so they could have easily escaped. But why? Unless they wanted to..." Foxleap trailed off as realization dawned on him like a ray of light.

Swallowtail seemed to realize the exact same thing because her entire face dropped. And then it was like her eyes were lit on fire. "You idiot! They're out hunting for badgers!" The reddish-brown tom barely dodged thorn sharp claws from the furious gray she-cat.

"Hey, you're the one who made it seem like they had no choice but to sneak out," Foxleap hissed. "How about instead of attacking me, you just look for them?"

Swallowtail sent shards of ice towards Foxleap and the tom felt his stomach drop. This would definitely put a dent in winning the challenge and he needed to do some major damage control if he wanted to win Swallowtail over. "No, you're right. I'll help you look for them."

Swallowtail's eyes softened, "You're hurt."

"It's my fault." _Kind of... It's more your fault that anything but I guess I'll take the blame if it means winning the challenge. _"C'mon, go tell Onestar and I'll volunteer for a patrol."

"Fine," Swallowtail sighed. "But the second you feel dizzy or in any kind of pain, you're coming back here and you're staying here another three days."

"Agreed," Foxleap smiled. To Swallowtail, it looked like he was trying to be nice but on the inside, he was cheering and congratulating himself for a job well done. He had just won some points with the WindClan she-cat and if he played tonight right then maybe he'd get a few extra nights in WindClan to win her over. "Now let's go look for those kits."

Not even ten heartbeats later, Harespring was standing on Tallrock, organizing patrols to look for the missing kits. "Heathertail, Breezepelt, Leaftail, and Nightcloud, go check by the ThunderClan border. I will lead a patrol with Crowfeather, Larkwing and Crouchfoot. Weaselfur, you take Swallowtail, Emberfoot and..." His eyes jumped from cat to cat, looking for someone to go on the patrol.

"I'll go," Foxleap called and everyone turned to gape at the ThunderClan tom. "Something I said might have made them sneak out and I feel responsible for them."

Foxleap nearly snorted at his own comment. Not in the least bit did he feel responsible but if this was what it took to win over Swallowtail, then that's what he would do.

Harespring narrowed his eyes at the newcomer, "You're injured. If anything, you'll just slow down the patrol."

"I'm standing now," Foxleap argued. _Please keep me in camp. Please keep me in camp. Please keep my in camp._

"Fine." _You have to be kidding me. _"Follow Weaselfur and if I hear that you're causing problems, I swear it'll be the last thing you do."

Foxleap nodded respectively and padded over to the ginger tom. Weaselfur shot him and uneasy glance and Emberfoot looked plain hopeless but the look of thankfulness and adoration in Swallowtail's eyes made up for it.

They didn't waste any time in running out of camp and towards the shoreline. The worst thing a kit could do is fall in the lake and drown before a patrol even had a chance at saving them. Foxleap's entire being ached but he bit back the whines and cries that threatened to spill out. Even if it bought him some more time with Swallowtail, it would make him look weak and she-cats don't like weakness.

"There!" Foxleap was snapped out of his thoughts by Emberfoot's yowls. His amber eyes were focused on four dark blurs in the distance. The kits were leaning over a cliff that Foxleap recognized as the one Jayfeather walked off when he was only a kit. Dustpelt made sure Foxleap knew the story so he would never try leaning over it and accidently falling in.

It looked like WindClan kits didn't get the memo.

"We have to do this quietly. If we startle them, they risk the chance of falling in," Weaselfur pointed out.

Swallowtail nodded in agreement. "Only one of us should go."

"You go," Emberfoot nodded to Swallowtail. "You're the lightest."

Swallowtail didn't object as she started padding towards the kits. Foxleap winced when he heard the crunching of dead grass under her paws. If she carried on like that then the kits were sure to fall in. Now it wasn't only about impressing Swallowtail, but also about saving innocent lives. "Wait."

Everyone turned to look expectantly at Foxleap. They all had a look of impatience on their faces but they needed to hear this. "I'll go. ThunderClan has dead leaves and branches everywhere so I know a thing or two about stealth. No offense, Swallowtail, but the kits will hear you long before you reach them."

Swallowtail opened her mouth to object but Emberfoot cut her off. "You're right. We'd be able to run to your aid faster if anything went wrong, anyway."

"Are you sure about this?" Swallowtail asked and Foxleap swore he saw a flicker of worry in her amber eyes.

"Yeah, this is what's best."

Foxleap started creeping forward, placing one paw in front of the other and barely making a sound as he glided across the grass. Even if the badger wounds were killing him, he was going fairly quickly. Within moments, he was right behind the kits and getting ready to sweep them away from the edge.

His paw shot out and wrapped around the kits' bodies, yanking them away from the Cliffside. Just as he thought they were out of danger and he could go back to sleep, Hootkit stumbled forward. The dark gray tom was batted away by Foxleap's paw and with a shriek of terror, slipped over the edge. His front paws dug into the ground as he fell so instead of completely toppling over, he was dangling from the edge.

Foxleap shot forward, his paws outstretched as he tried to grab the kit. But instead of grabbing him, he only batted the kit more so he lost his grip and slipped off the cliff. The ThunderClan tom wasted no time in leaping off the edge and landing in the water with a splash.

ThunderClan cats were no swimmers and other than for drinking and washing his pelt after a gruesome battle, Foxleap hadn't touched a drop of water in his life. So it didn't take long for him to start to sink.

_Hootkit. Need to find Hootkit. _Foxleap thought as he started kicking with his legs. Once he found the right rhythm, he broke the surface of the water. But Hootkit was no where in sight. "Hootkit!"

"Help!" Out of the corner of his eyes, Foxleap could see a dark gray blob, bobbing up and down as it tried to stay afloat. "Help-"

"I'm coming!" Foxleap yowled as he ferociously kicked towards the kit. Hootkit's head disappeared under the surface of the water and reappeared a few heartbeats later, further out in the lake. "Try swimming towards me!"

"I can't!" Hootkit cried as he sunk for a second. "Foxleap, please!"

Foxleap stretched out his paw so it was only a mouse-whisker away from the kit. _I've got you! _But then Hootkit disappeared again. He didn't come back up. "No!"

Foxleap dove into the murky water, searching desperately for the dark gray tom. It took him a second but he finally spotted Hootkit, sinking to the lake floor. The warrior kicked towards the kit, ignoring the feeling of pressure building up in his ears as he swam. _Just a little closer and..._

_Gotcha!_

Foxleap's claw hooked into the kits scruff and pulled him closer. Once he was close enough, the tom grabbed Hootkit in his jaws and started paddling to the surface. For the second time, he broke the surface in a flurry of kicking and coughs as he swam towards the shore. Hootkit still wasn't moving in his jaws. _Please don't be dead! You're too young to die!_

Foxleap pulled himself onto the shore and it felt like he was made of rocks. Not only was he in an immense amount of pain, but he was also exhausted and for what? A kit that might not even live.

Swallowtail, Emberfoot, Slightkit, Featherkit, and Oatkit swarmed around the two as they collapsed on the shore. Foxleap fell to the ground and felt his eyes lull shut. As hard as he tried, he couldn't keep them open.

"Is Hootkit going to be okay?" That was Featherkit.

"Step back. I need to try to get the water out of his lungs." Emberfoot.

"This is my fault! I convinced them to sneak out with me!" Slightkit.

But there was one voice which sounded as sweet as honey to Foxleap and unlike the other three, it was speaking to Foxleap. It was Swallowtail. "Hold on, Foxleap. Don't die on me."

Foxleap slowly opened his eyes to gaze up at the beautiful gray she-cat. He could see relief shining in her amber eyes as he uttered the next words.

"I won't."

**Aw, that's kind of cute. There's going to be a lot more Fox x Swallow going on in the next chapter so stay tuned. Also in the next chapter, we'll see:**

**-Foxleap goes back to ThunderClan**

**-Foxleap has a special question for Swallowtail**

**-ThunderClan gets two special visitors**

**Question of the Day**

**Which is your favorite Clan?**


	7. Chapter 7

**Thanks everyone for the OC's :) At the end of the next chapter, I'll reveal which kit got chosen. This does NOT mean I'll stop accepting OC's, because there are lot's more open spots so keep sending them in! The faster you send them in, the better the chance you have of seeing your kit in my upcoming story!**

**Only a few more reviews to 50 :D Can we try to go past that and reach 55?**

**Sandtail - I really love ShadowClan too but I have to say my favorite is ThunderClan, just because that's the Clan we see most of. And thank you, that means so much! I always worry right after I post a chapter that everyone will hate it :P**

**Anova00 - Hey, are you the same Anova that reviewed as a guest? And haha the Dark Forest definitely wouldn't be my first choice!**

**Guest - Me too but then again, I like all the Clans :3**

**Dark Gambler - thanks again for the OC! Maybe he has, maybe he hasn't. We'll just have to see! I don't know if anyone would really LIKE his personality in the way it's at now but I think she's the only one so far who will tolerate it!**

**QLKwriter - Same! I think I like them best just because we get to see what their lives are like and the other Clans are kind of built up to be the bad guys in most situations.**

**hollyleaf1122 - Thanks, the next one will be even MORE adorable! Lot's of people seem to like ShadowClan and no one has yet said that WindClan is their favorite hehe. The Erin's need to get to work on that :D**

* * *

Chapter Seven

"Are you ready to witness the most beautiful, life-changing thing in the history of your life?"

Foxleap blinked. "Uh, no?"

Swallowtail's face fell and she stared blankly at the ThunderClan tom. "Well that's too bad because you're going to witness it whether you like it or not."

It was only a few hours after Foxleap saved Hootkit from drowning. The young kit managed to cough up the water and walk three steps before falling down again. Emberfoot had to carry him all the way back to camp while Swallowtail helped Foxleap. Weaselfur had run back to WindClan to get more help while Foxleap was getting the kits so no one was in any serious danger and Kestrelflight checked the two soaking toms over before dismissing them as 'healthy but wet.'

"I've seen the stars before, Swallowtail," Foxleap sighed and rolled his eyes. "This isn't new to me."

"But have you really _seen _them?"

"Yes," Foxleap interrupted before she could finish her sentence. She shot him an annoyed glare and continued.

"I _meant_ that in ThunderClan, if you look up, all you see is branches and you sleep in dens so you never really get a good look at Silverpelt. Sure, you've seen stars but you've never really seen _Silverpelt," _Swallowtail explained.

After they had gotten back from the lake and dried off, Swallowtail decided that since it was Foxleap's last night in WindClan, he had to do what she did every night and sleep under Silverpelt. She said that it made her feel like she had one paw in StarClan and that her warrior ancestors were always watching over her. Foxleap thought it was a load of fox-dung because everyone knows that StarClan's watching over _him._

Who better to look out for than the greatest warrior in Clan history? They're all probably up there, huddled around a circle, planning the best prophecy for the best warrior!

"Okay, I guess I could lose a little _valuable _sleep to watch the stars do nothing," Foxleap sighed, laying down next to Swallowtail. They rolled on their back so they would get a good look at the sky and waited for the stars to come out. The reason they hadn't done this yesterday was because A) Swallowtail could tolerate Foxleap even less then and B) he had slept right through the night without even getting a glance at the sky.

Foxleap stared up at the blank sky. It was slowly growing dark and it reminded him of a perfect pool of water; clear and beautiful but as time would pass, more things would appear in the pool like leaves and dirt or in the sky's case, stars. But thinking about all that made Foxleap's head hurt and he could only last a few heartbeats of silence before finally saying, "I'm so bored."

Swallowtail cuffed him over the ear. "Just wait, the stars will be out soon enough. Trust me, it'll be the most beautiful thing you've ever seen."

"I doubt it," Foxleap scoffed.

"_Because you, my dear, delicate flower, are the most beautiful thing I've ever seen." _The warriors turned to see Sedgewhisker and Emberfoot giggling, a little off to the side. Emberfoot was mocking Foxleap in a high pitched voice and Sedgewhisker was mimicking her sister, but in a deep, husky voice.

"_Oh Foxleap, you're too perfect for me. I just want to watch the stars with you forever," _Sedgewhisker mocked and the mates blew up in fits of laughter. They stopped when they noticed Swallowtail and Foxleap looking very unamused. Sedgewhisker coughed a few times and returned to her normal voice. "Uh, yeah, you're right Emberfoot, the weather _has _been nice out lately."

Emberfoot cleared his throat. "Yeah, the wind has been very... windy."

"Classy _and _clever," Swallowtail snorted.

Foxleap chuckled, "He's right though, the wind _has _been pretty windy lately. It's something you wouldn't expect, out here in _WindClan._"

Emberfoot and Sedgewhisker ducked their heads in embarrassment as the two other cats laughed. "We're just having a little fun. I don't get that much when I'm stuck in the nursery. Besides, you two are _basically _mates now, even if you haven't admitted it yet," Sedgewhisker teased but was greeted with icy glares.

"Everyone has been saying that!" Swallowtail growled. "Seriously, what's one thing we've done that's even remotely mate-like?"

Emberfoot looked up in thought. "Well thinking off the top of my head... stargazing, sharing personal stories, saving kits, playing with kits, talking about kits, 'running into each other' at the border and saving each others lives, sticking up for each other-"

"You can stop any time now," Foxleap muttered and the gray tom laughed. Even if Swallowtail hated his guts and he lost the challenge, a small part of Foxleap was still glad he ended up in WindClan because he got to get to know cats like Emberfoot, Sedgewhisker and Swallowtail. The reddish brown tom glanced up to see that the dark sky was starting to light up. "Hey, the stars came out."

"And that's my cue to go to sleep," Sedgewhisker sighed as she started padding to the Nursery. Emberfoot watched her for a second before turning back to Swallowtail and Foxleap.

"Don't let you love session wake us up. We have a Clan to run," he joked before trotting off to find a comfortable patch of grass to sleep on. Foxleap huffed and rolled his eyes before rolling on his back again next to Swallowtail.

He had to admit... it really was breathtaking. He had spent his entire life sleeping in dens and under trees but never once in his life did he ever feel so free. Foxleap could understand now why WindClan were so proud and always said they felt closer to StarClan. Foxleap would need to sleep outside more often.

"See?" Swallowtail smirked, seeing the amazed look on Foxleap's face. "I told you, you would like it."

"I just never... paid attention I guess. I was always too busy to stop and pay attention to the small stuff," Foxleap breathed. The stars shone brightly and for once of his life, they didn't just look like a splatter of white in the sky. They were single, flickering _souls._

"Well I wouldn't exactly call StarClan _small _but I see what you mean," Swallowtail sniggered. She turned and looked at Foxleap with amusement shining in her amber eyes. "Would you look at ol' Foxleap. It turns out the best warrior in the world _does _have a heart."

Foxleap sniffed, "I always had one. You just couldn't see it through all my muscle."

"Typical." Swallowtail flicked him with her tail. All of the sudden, there was a small flash across the sky. "Did you see that?"

"What was it?" Foxleap asked. It had only lasted a second and she didn't seem worried in the slightest.

"It was a StarClan warrior hunting. Sometimes when you look up at the sky on the darkest of nights, you can see them flash by, leaving stardust in their wake," Swallowtail explained. Foxleap had heard some of the elders call it a 'Shooting Star' but her liked her description much better.

"Sometimes when I run so fast, I leave a little stardust behind too," Foxleap joked.

Swallowtail laughed again causing Foxleap to grin. He turned to look at her to just admire her. Her eyes would light up like the stars and her sharp teeth would gleam in the dark night. Even her laughter sounded like a song the birds sang in the morning.

_Even if she doesn't like me, _Foxleap thought to himself, _I sure like her._

* * *

Foxleap stood at the edge of WindClan territory, staring at the forest ahead. The night had passed with him and Swallowtail talking for most of it until Breezepelt finally came over and yelled at them for not shutting up. They fell asleep soon after that and woke up the next morning to Onestar, saying that it was time for Foxleap to head home.

Even though he missed ThunderClan dreadfully, he really was going to miss his time in WindClan. He grew fond of the warriors and the fresh smell that hit him whenever someone ran by. He turned around to see Swallowtail with a flash of sorrow in her eyes and then Crouchfoot standing a little further back, his eyes drooping in exhaustion. For some reason he agreed to be a part of the two cat patrol to send Foxleap back to the border, even after sitting vigil.

"So I guess this is it," Swallowtail said sadly. _Sadly? Does that mean she likes me? _"Goodbye Foxleap."

Foxleap ducked his head. "But I don't want this to be it." Sure, he wanted to stay in WindCLan a little longer but he also _couldn't _let this end. The next time he would see her would be at the next Gathering and by then, it would be too late him to win the Challenge.

"Well it kind of has to be, unless you want to go attack a fox or something," Swallowtail laughed humorously. Foxleap glanced behind her to see Crouchfoot was now on the ground, snoring softly. Still, he wondered why the new warrior even bothered coming. Oh well, it just made it easier for Foxleap.

"What if I told you this doesn't have to be the end?" Foxleap asked. His heart was pounding in his chest and he had never felt so scared before. _Oh StarClan, what am I doing? _

"What do you mean?" Swallowtail asked. She looked confused but deep down, she knew what he was about to ask. And the flash of excitement in her eyes was all it took for him to push forward and ask her.

"These last few days couldn't have just been an accident. Meeting you at the border, attacking that badger... I think it's fate," Foxleap said confidently. "And I think this is message that... that we need to get to know each other more."

"Foxleap I-" He recognized that tone all too well. Rejection. But he could still see that spark in her eyes and he knew she was dying inside for him to ask her.

"Tomorrow night, when the stars come out, we meet here. I want to get to know you better," Foxleap pressed and Swallowtail took an unsure step back.

"That's against the Warrior Code!"

"Everything is against the Warrior Code. Just hear me out, come tonight and if you get stopped or held up, that means this was never meant to happen but if nobody stops you and you get here without any trouble, then it's fate. I'm not asking you to be my mate here, I'm asking you to be my friend... we can watch the stars together again."

Swallowtail sighed and turned away. "Look, I'll think about it but don't get your hopes up. I would _never _come to meet romantically and I'm questioning doing it even as friends but... we'll see, okay?"

"That's good enough for me," Foxleap grinned. Just then, the bushes behind him started to rustle and out stepped Bramblestar, Berrynose, and Poppyfrost. They all looked tense but relaxed a little when they saw it was only Foxleap, Swallowtail and the log-of-a-cat, Crouchfoot.

"Foxleap, you're okay," Bramblestar said while dipping his head politely at Swallowtail. She did the same before nodding an acknowledgement to Foxleap and started to walk away, whacking Crouchfoot on the ear in the process so he jolted awake. "It's time to get back to ThunderClan."

Foxleap was expecting a _little _more of a welcome home party when they showed up but no one looked exactly ecstatic to see him. Maybe a little relieved that he wasn't badger food but other than that, they were acting like it was just some typical day. It was surprising how much that actually hurt.

Foxleap hobbled to keep up. Even if he was mostly healed, his wounds still ached though he was trying his hardest not to show it. He must have been doing a good job because the patrol weren't slowing down to wait for him. "So, uh, what happened while I was gone?"

"Cinderheart moved to the nursery," Poppyfrost answered. _Cinderheart __was pregnant? It probably happened right after I left her and Lionblaze alone in the forest._

"Congratulations for them then," Foxleap shrugged and silence filled the air.

They finally reached the camp entrance and Foxleap winced as the thorn barrier snagged at some of his scabbed over wounds. When he entered the camp, he knew he was going to get the greeting he was waiting for. Rosepetal would run towards him, lick his muzzle and tell him he missed him. Spiderleg and Toadstep would casually pad over, trying to act like they weren't excited and tease him about some aspect of the challenge. Icecloud would tell him how much she missed him and Dustpelt would say he was glad he was alive.

But when Foxleap came out from under the thorn barrier, he was greeted with nothing but disappointment.

Three cats stood in front of him; Dustpelt, Hazeltail, and Spiderleg.

"I'm glad you're okay, son," Dustpelt dipped his head. "We almost sent out a search party after you didn't show up."

"Thank you," Foxleap nodded. He didn't know what else to say. What he really wanted to ask was where everyone was and why nobody even cared that he had come home after three days of being stuck in WindClan, on the brink of death.

"Looks like you finally got what was coming to you," Spiderleg teased and cuffed his brother over the ear. "A badger though, huh? You finally proved you could do one of the things you say you can."

"Please, if there was a fox right now, I'd be the one to land the fatal blow," Foxleap joked. Dustpelt had trotted off, probably to go sulk in the elders den so it was only Hazeltail, Foxleap, and Spiderleg. "Uh, by the way, why isn't anyone..."

"Treating you like you just fought off a badger, saved someone's life and was held captive in WindClan for three nights?" Hazeltail finished and Foxleap nodded. "It's actually a funny story."

"It's not a funny story. You ruined everything," Spiderleg interrupted and Foxleap looked around for the first real time. Rosepetal and Icecloud were standing across camp, glaring at Foxleap with hatred and Birchfall standing near them, looking disappointed at the reddish brown tom. Ivypool and Toadstep were curled up together, their tails intertwined; the she-cat looked disgusted at Foxleap and Toadstep avoided eye contact.

"Maybe if you listened to your sister a little more, we wouldn't be in this situation," Hazeltail hissed. "You told her that she should call Ivypool out for getting close to Toadstep. They got in this huge fight and Icecloud ended up attacking Ivypool so now, Ivypool has a nicked ear, Icecloud was publicly humiliated and rejected and everyone knows it's your fault."

Foxleap's gut dropped when he started to remember bits and pieces of the conversation he had with Icecloud. It was when he was walking up to the Gathering and Icecloud was asking him questions but he was too caught up in the challenge to pay attention to her. Now, he was paying the price.

"I didn't mean to-"

"But you did," Hazeltail snapped. "You know, more cats would like you if you actually listened to what they were saying."

Foxleap thought back to all the times he had blatantly ignored others. Icecloud on the trip to the Gathering and Swallowtail when she was lecturing him about Cherrypaw. If he had listened to his own apprentice then maybe she wouldn't hate him too. And in all cases, he had paid the price and someone got hurt.

Hazeltail stormed away and the two brother's eyes strayed after her. There was a moment of silence before Spiderleg finally said something. "I once had a littermate..."

"Shrewpaw, yeah, I know," Foxleap butted in.

"He was... he was my other half. Wherever you saw Shrewpaw, I was right there beside him. Just like you, I had one other littermate. But one time, right before the Great Journey, we got in a fight. I felt like he was cutting me out for Squirrelflight and I yelled at him for it. I told him I hated him and then later that day, he was killed by a monster."

Foxleap's head whipped around to face Spiderleg. His amber eyes were glossy and he had never seen the older warrior so sad.

"Out of everything I have done, out of all my mistakes, the only one I regret is hurting my brother because I will never get to see him again. Those are my final words to him and if he had just lived another day, I could have apologized and sometimes I think that maybe he wouldn't have been so distracted that day. Maybe he would have seen the monster coming and jumped out of the way..." his voice trailed off and Foxleap could tell he was silently sobbing.

"Spiderleg, it wasn't your fault," Foxleap whispered. He didn't know what else to say.

Spiderleg looked up, "I know that. I've tortured myself over Shrewpaw's death for seasons but I finally came to peace with myself. I know there wasn't anything I could have done and I know it wasn't my fault but this," he motioned to the hateful glares and tension filled camp, "this is _all _your fault."

Foxleap took a step back. He was speechless.

"You never know what could happen next and if you don't clean yourself up soon, someone might die hating you. And it could very well be you." And with that, Spiderleg padded off into the forest.

Foxleap looked around to see if there was someone - _anyone - _in ThunderClan who would look at him with love but he was all alone. And for the first time ever, Foxleap didn't feel like the best warrior in the Clans... he just felt alone.

**Okay, so I lied when I said there'd be 2 special visitors but I edited that part out. I didn't really like where it would lead to and I felt like it took off the main storyline.**

**Sorry this is a day late, by the way, I forgot to upload it and then decided to do it today (Sunday) so more people would see it instead of late at night when people would just scroll past it.**

**Question of the Day**

**Who is your favorite character in The Challenge? ( I know they're canon but I take a different spin on the characters so you may have a new opinion on them after this )**


	8. Chapter 8

**So um, I haven't been getting as many reviews as I usually do and I was just wondering why? Like, has my writing been getting worse or has this story been getting boring? Anyway, I'd love it if I got more reviews but at the end of the chapter, I have a bonus scene that I can't find a way of fitting into the story. I was just going to leave it out but hey, you amazing people got me to 50 reviews so I figured I'd just put it at the bottom as kind of a thank you. :)**

**Reviews**

**Lolkat123 - They were being pretty harsh but keep in mind that it wasn't just this. He also has been acting rude and cocky for the last few moons so this is kind of the last straw for everyone. And they are pretty adorable huh? This chapter is going to have more of them together!**

**Stream that Flows Around Rock - Yeah, I agree but then again, he did just leave for three days. It wasn't his choice but it definitely leveled him down a few notches and he's starting to realize how disliked he really is. **

**Lazy Watermelon - Yeah I like her too :) (Obviously) And yeah, he's finally the victim in one situation.**

**Eradrin Skyleaf - Thanks, here's another!**

**Embersky - Me too... even though I wrote it and all. Yeah, I think his Clanmates are being a little ridiculous but I also perceive them as kind of a community. They'll gossip and tell lies and choose sides but in the end, they're still a big happy family.**

* * *

Chapter Eight

The next day passed at a unbearably slow pace. When Foxleap woke up the next morning after dealing with glares and cats coming up to him, telling him that he should be ashamed. He never replied to any of them and like always, they just assumed he was tuning them out or their words were going right over his head.

But they weren't. By the end of the day, Foxleap had never felt more horrible about himself in his life. His only sister hated him and everyone else thought he was the equivalent of scum. But he also couldn't help but agree with what they were saying.

Not only did he play a key part in causing a fight between Ivypool and Icecloud, but he also did countless other unforgiveable things. He got his own apprentice stuck in camp for a moon without even apologizing and treated everyone like they were dirt. So now that the roles were reversed, Foxleap couldn't help but think he deserved it.

He still had a while before he had to go see if Swallowtail was waiting for him so Foxleap did what any brother did and went to find Icecloud. He found her in the warriors den, with her nest being moved from near Toadstep, Foxleap, and Ivypool to the other side of the den where Rosepetal and Lilystream slept. In fact, a lot of the sleeping arrangements had changed because it seemed everyone was choosing a side on the huge Icecloud-Toadstep-Ivypool love triangle.

Only the senior warriors were decent enough to stay out of it.

Icecloud was curled up in a ball on her nest and when Foxleap got closer, he realized that she was only pretending to be asleep. When she was really asleep, her tail tip would flick every so often and she would snore ever so softly. So Foxleap sat down in front of her and waited to see if she would open her eyes. She didn't.

"Icecloud, I know you're awake," he said, She still didn't move. "Listen, I know what I'm like. I knew that I don't think of others needs and I should have been thinking of you when I gave you that advice. The truth is... the truth is that I wasn't listening and I should have. I was thinking about this stupid bet I have with Spiderleg instead of paying attention to what you were saying. I shouldn't have told you to confront Ivypool and I will talk the ultimate blame for that because it was no one's fault but mine. You weren't in the right mindset so all I can do is... apologize. I'm sorry Icecloud."

Icecloud still didn't move after Foxleap waited a few heartbeats. He thought that she could at least pretend to wake up but she remained perfectly still in the same fake-sleep state. Foxleap's face fell and he sat up, licking Icecloud once over the ear before padding away. But what he didn't know was that the she-cat opened one eye after he left to watch him leave.

Yes, she was still furious at him but maybe, just maybe, she could learn to forgive him.

* * *

Night came soon enough after a day filled with more whispers and harsh glares, but when the darkness finally overcame the camp, Foxleap couldn't help but feel relieved. He knew he shouldn't because if Swallowtail was a no-show then that means he ruined all chances with her and he would probably lose the challenge.

He pretended to try and sleep but made sure everyone could see that he was 'restless.' He would toss and turn so others around him would even get annoyed before finally standing up and mumbling, just loud enough for the warriors still awake to hear, "I need to get out of my head."

A few pairs of eyes trailed him as I silently padded out of the cave, accidently stepping on a few tails on the way out but too overwhelmed in emotions to really care. Berrynose and Whitewing were standing watch, and it didn't take much to get past them either. All he had to say was, "I'm going for a walk," and he was clear of ThunderClan.

But the one aspect he didn't consider was someone following him out of camp. And that someone was Spiderleg.

"Where you going, brother?" Spiderleg piped up, causing Foxleap to nearly jump out of his fur.

"I uh, I'm going for a walk," he lied. Spiderleg clearly didn't believe him because the dark tom sat down and patiently wrapped his tail around his paws.

"That's great, now why don't you tell me what you're _actually _doing?" Spiderleg mewed and Foxleap rolled his eyes. He loved Spiderleg, but sometimes the older tom could be intolerable.

"Well I _am _taking a walk... I'm just walking to WindClan to uh, meet up with Swallowtail-"

"WHAT!?" Spiderleg's scream was loud enough to wake up all four Clans and not a heartbeat later, Foxleap had pounced on his brother and muffled his screams by shoving his reddish brown paw into the toms mouth.

"Okay, first off, don't act so disgusted! You're the one who made this stupid bet in the first place and help me _choose _Swallowtail so you're as much to blame for this as I am. And secondly, we're just meeting as friends, nothing more so don't think I'm going to be the father of any kits anytime soon. Now, if I take my paw out of your mouth, do you promise not to scream?"

Spiderleg nodded and Foxleap slowly removed his paw from the toms mouth. Once it was completely out, Spiderleg's entire face crumbled in disgust. "Ugh, I think you stepped in some kind of animal dirt. You need to learn some proper hygiene skills," he spat and licked around the outside of his mouth to wipe some of the nasty taste off.

After a few heartbeats, Spiderleg finally remembered the real problem and looked up at Foxleap with a furious look. "You mousebrain! This is against the Warrior Code! You could get caught and banished! I told you to find someone who likes your personality, not meet them in the middle of the night!"

"Ahem, the Code says you can friendships with other Clans as long as your loyalty remains to your Clan. Since I am completely loyal to my Clan then we have no problem," Foxleap shrugged and started on his way again, only to be stopped.

"Okay, so you're saying that if you met Swallowtail in battle, you would kill her if it came down to it?" Spiderleg challenged.

"The Code also states that you don't have to kill to win a battle so once again, we have no problem." Spiderleg nearly clawed Foxleap when the words left his mouth but miraculously, Spiderleg held back.

"Foxleap, you are _not _going to see Swallowtail tonight!" Spiderleg stamped his foot and that was finally when the amusement left Foxleap's eyes. The tom looked genuinely offended that his brother was trying to control him.

"You know what? Yes, I'm going to see her because like it or not, this is all your fault! You're the reason I met her in the first place and I am so sick of everyone placing the blame on me because it's convenient! You should know me; I'm not going to fall for someone from _WindClan. _I would never stoop so low," Foxleap snapped and Spiderleg ducked his head. It was true, if Foxleap was known for anything, it wasn't his feelings, let alone romantic ones for another Clan cat.

"...Fine. But I'm trusting you here to do the right thing. This better be the last night you spend with her because the next time, I won't be so nice," Spiderleg snarled and Foxleap let out a sigh of relief. "You're still going to get it back at camp though. And I better hear every little detail!"

"Fine, fine, you will," Foxleap chuckled. "But can you let me go now? I'm going to be late."

Spiderleg hesitantly stepped out of the way and watched as his brother ran past. The older tom shook his head as the red tail disappeared into the forest because if one thing was for certain, this entire challenge was a mistake. _I've created an even bigger monster._

Foxleap finally reached the meeting spot but he couldn't see anyone from where he stood in the bushes. He didn't want to blatantly walk onto WindClan territory so instead, he hid on his side of the border and called for Swallowtail.

"Swallowtail?" Foxleap whispered into the open space. "Swallowtail are you there?"

"Yeah, I'm here," a voice answered back. Swallowtail stepped into view, her amber eyes sparkling in the moon and her fur slightly bristled with worry and nervousness. "It wasn't easy getting out of camp."

"Trust me, it wasn't a walk in the woods for me either," Foxleap snorted and he pressed his muzzle against hers. She leapt back a little and Foxleap watched her with amusement flickering in his eyes. "I was being friendly, mouse-brain. I wasn't trying anything with you."

"Yeah, well I still remember the time you tried mating with every she-cat in your Clan so I wouldn't get too comfortable," Swallowtail winked as she settled down next to Foxleap. "You look kind of...sad."

Foxleap sighed and ducked his head as he curled up next to her. "You know, I knew that not everyone liked me but... but now everyone _hates _me and I'm not sure if I can deal with that."

"What do you mean?" Swallowtail asked.

So he told her everything, starting from when he first stepped onto ThunderClan territory after staying with WindClan to apologizing to Icecloud. And all the while, she stayed silent, nodding at the right times and comfortingly nudging Foxleap whenever he needed it. When he was finally finished, he was exhausted and just wanted to know how he could fix the situation. "So, how do I stop them from hating me? I made one little mistake and they despise me!"

Swallowtail paused for a moment, as if to choose her words wisely. "I think the best thing you can do is not fix the situation but fix yourself."

Foxleap glanced up, looking slightly offended so Swallowtail rushed on. "You're a good cat, Foxleap, and saving those kits at the cost of your life proved that but you aren't... you come off as cocky and selfish and I'm sorry, but that's the truth. Nobody will truly forgive you until you change your personality because honestly, I don't think it's the bad advice that they're angry about, it's just you."

Foxleap flinched back but the words did make sense in his head. He had been doing a lot of thinking since coming back to ThunderClan and he was slowly starting to realize how much he put himself before others and in a Clan, that wouldn't work. So instead of arguing like he would have days ago, Foxleap nodded. "You're right. But how do I do that?"

"Start by putting your Clanmates first. Listen to them, go on border patrols and do the things that most cats wouldn't want to do. Prove that you've changed."

Prove that you're changed...

_I can do that. No, I _have _to do that because if I don't, there is no future for me in ThunderClan._

* * *

Bonus Scene

She tread lightly across the forest floor, keeping her body close to the ground and her mouth open, letting the scents fill her mouth. But being in the forest was more confusing than RiverClan territory and she couldn't sort out the smell of pine and ShadowClan. So when she heard a twig snap, she couldn't help but let out a little yelp of surprise.

She whipped around to see a dark brown, tabby tom step out of the bushes. "You should be thankful it's me and not someone else," he mewed with no emotion in his voice.

"Owlclaw," Minnowtail breathed. "Thank StarClan it's you. I can't swim across the lake anymore now that I'm expecting."

Owlclaw's face only hardened and a look of betrayal returned to his eyes. She had seen it a few days ago at the Gathering when Mistystar announced her pregnancy but she didn't know he would be so angry. She knew he would be cross, but nothing like this. "I can't believe you let this happen!" he snarled and Minnowtail flinched back.

"I never meant to get pregnant but now that I am, can't you at least be happy for me? I'm going to have kits with the love of my life!" she grinned but Owlclaw's face didn't change. Her eyes fell and her tail dropped to the ground. "I thought you'd be happy."

"Why would I be happy?" Owlclaw snapped and slashed a tree with unsheathed claws. "I'm not your mate."

"But you're my friend..." Minnowtail whimpered.

"I told you from the beginning that seeing him was a bad idea and now look at you. You're expecting ThunderClan kits and the father won't even be able to see them. This was a bad idea from the beginning and you know it," Owlclaw sneered and Minnowtail fell silent.

Finally she said, "Owlclaw, do you remember when I started meeting him so many moons ago? When I was too exhausted to swim across the lake so I tried running through ShadowClan? I ran into you and you said 'love is love, no matter the Clan' and let me go. What changed?"

"You took it too far. You said it wasn't like you were going to have kits so I let it go. I let it go because I thought this was a phase that would die down, not something that would turn into thousands of lies from not only you, but also me. I let it go because I wanted to be close to you, not keep your secrets for you."

Minnowtail flinched and took a step back. "There's nothing you can do to stop me, Owlclaw. I love him and you can't control me!"

"Can't I?" Owlclaw snarled. "I wonder how your Clan would react if they knew who you were meeting up with."

Minnowtail's eyes widened in horror at what he had said. He was supposed to be her friend! "You wouldn't."

"Won't I?"

"I promise you, I will never forgive you for this if you tell them," Minnowtail snarled. "I will never talk to you again unless in battles and then it will be the last words I say to you before I kill you."

Owlclaw narrowed his eyes and said, "I won't tell anyone." Cue sigh of relief. "_But _you have to break it off right now. End it tonight and I'll keep my mouth shut."

"Owclaw, please-"

"That's final. It's your Clan, or your mate. Which one is it?" He sat down and waited patiently. "But just remember that if you choose him, your kits will grow up without a home and if for some miraculous reason, you manage to find a home in the Clans, they'll be outcasts. They'll have no one but you and sometimes, you aren't enough."

"I...I... I choose RiverClan," Minnowtail whispered and hung her head. "I'll break it off tonight."

"Fine, let's go." Minnowtail narrowed her eyes at Owlclaw's words. "What, you think I'd just let you do it without me seeing? No. I need proof that you did what I said."

"That's not fair!"

"Neither is you getting a mate in ThunderClan. I'll be hiding in the bushes and you have to say exactly what I tell you. You have to tell him that you don't love him anyone and that your kits belonged to another. You never truly loved him and that you'll never see him again." Minnowtail nodded but Owlclaw could see the pain in her eyes as she slowly started making her way towards ThunderClan. Owlclaw was a few paces behind her, making sure not to get caught.

They reached ThunderClan soon enough and when they got there, Mousewhisker was already waiting with an excited look on his face. When he spotted Minnowtail pad through the bushes, he sprinted to her and covered her face with licks. "You're having my kits! I love you, I love you, I love you!"

But when she took a step back, his entire face fell. "I don't love you though," she whispered.

"W-what?"

"I'm sorry Mousewhisker, I liked you once but now I realize that... the feelings weren't genuine. I was caught up in the rush and I never loved you," Minnnowtail lied through her teeth. Hurt shone in Mousewhisker's eyes. "These... these kits aren't even yours."

"B-but... but whose are they?" Mousewhisker whimpered. Suddenly his voice rose and his claws slid out. "WHOSE!"

"Owlclaw's," Minnowtail cried out. "They're Owlclaw's."

_No, no, no, this wasn't part of the plan! _Owlclaw thought from the bushes.

"From ShadowClan? You fell in love with someone from ShadowClan? You... you're..." Mousewhisker fought for the words. "You're evil." Minnowtail looked up with hurt plastered on her face. "I hate you. Get off ThunderClan territory."

"But Mousewhisker-"

"Leave!" he screamed, slashing his claws on a nearby plant, cutting it clean in half. Minnowtail backed up a few paces before turning and sprinting away. She brushed passed Owlclaw but blatantly ignored him as she ran.

Even though it hurt to see her go, Owlclaw couldn't help but feel a sliver of happiness. Because now, she didn't belong to Mousewhisker. She didn't belong to anyone.

Because if Owlclaw couldn't have her, no one could.

**I hope you all enjoyed both parts of the chapter :) And also, I've had this little miniature contest to create a kit for my upcoming warriors series and I've had a few applicants so I'm going to announce one winner, each chapter. The application isn't closed so you can still submit a kit, all you have to fill out is:**

**Name:**

**Gender:**

**Description:**

**We can discuss the rest if you kit is chosen (randomly by the way) and so if you enter your kit (two kits is the limit) now, you have a bigger chance to be picked! But for now, the winner is...**

**tr1xx777 with Brindlekit! **

**Also, just a little update on my life and I've had about 50000000000000 plots swirling around in my head and after this story is done, I have a few chapters already written that will be published so be excited guys because there's going to be some more stories to come!**

**Question of the Day**

**What is your favorite TV show?**


	9. Chapter 9

**Thanks for all the reviews guys! I really appreciate them :) The next chapter is the big 1-0 and I've never written this much before! It's kind of crazy honestly!**

**Reviews**

**Rainpool777 - Yeah, what he did wasn't very nice :( But he also did it because he loved Minnowtail and her getting pregnant was the last straw.**

**Stuffed Watermelon - Thanks for the OC's, there will be a name announced at the end of the chapter so we'll see if it's one of your kits! There's a kit announced every chapter so there will probably be one for every chapter until this is over.**

**RandomReviewer - Gah, thanks! That means a lot! I'll try :)**

**Stream that Flows Around Rock - I like that too! I don't see a lot of it though because I don't watch a lot of TV but I like the episodes I have seen. And thanks for your application!**

**FrostFall37 - Yeah, I feel bad for them :( The aftermath of the breakup will be shown but I don't think there will be anymore Bonus Scene's about them though. I don't know, I kind of liked writing it though so maybe it I somehow reach 100 reviews, I'll write another one!**

**Lazy Watermelon - Oh my Gosh, thank you but no, I'm no where near as doo :3 there are SO many better authors out there than me!**

**hollyleaf1122 - I asked this question on one of my other stories and a lot of people said Hey Arnold! as well. I've never seen it though. And thanks, Mousewhisker's one of my favorites too but he probably won't have many more scenes about him :'( I'll make sure to include more Mousewhisker in the future though!**

**Embersky - Yeah, I feel bad but he did kind of deserve it :P This chapter will be more about him trying to change his personality but you can't just change overnight so it obviously won't happen in only this chapter! Thanks, I liked writing it! Me too, but the backstory I made for him was that he fell in love with Minnowtail when he helped her sneak over to see Mousewhisker a bunch of times but when he found out she was pregnant, he decided that it was the last straw and if he couldn't have her, no one could. I don't know, I think of really deep plots even for minor characters...**

* * *

Chapter Nine

_Improve your personality and everyone will start to like you again... doesn't sound hard..._

But the second Foxleap stepped out of his den and scanned the camp, he realized it would be harder than he thought. For the most part because when he looked at his Clanmates, he couldn't help but think, _I'm better than you... and you... I'm _definitely _better than you..._

But sucking in his pride, Foxleap started on the cat he thought he would be the easiest: Daisy. Foxleap spent a lot of time with her when he was a kit so maybe a part of her would see him and be reminded of the innocent little kit who used to play moss ball and maggots in her kits nests.

Oh. Now that Foxleap thought about it, he realized that looking at him, the first thing that would pop into her mind would be all the awful things he's done to Toadstep and Rosepetal when they were kits. Maybe Foxleap needed to start with a different cat instead of Daisy... Millie! Millie loved everyone (except for two of her three kits.)

Foxleap padded up to Millie and on his way, snagged a robin from the fresh kill pile to share with her. That was sure to win a few points with Millie! When he picked up the robin, he noticed an odd smell but ignored it. It was probably just someone coming out of the Dirtplace or something like that.

Millie was sitting alone in the sun when Foxleap dropped the robin in front of her paws. Her eyes shot open and she glanced uneasily at the bird and then up to Foxleap as he settled down next to her. "Uh, Hi Foxleap?" It came out as more of a question than anything.

"Hey Millie, I thought you looked hungry so I brought you something to eat," Foxleap said, wrinkling his nose. The smell was really strong and he was starting to think that maybe it wasn't someone being extra nasty in the Dirtplace.

Millie looked slightly confused but also thankful. "Wow, thanks Foxleap, I haven't eaten all day. You know, you've changed a lot in the last few days... You seem kinder and more generous."

Foxleap started to tune her out as he focused on the gross smell. It was close and actually smelled like rotten prey more than anything... Oh StarClan, no.

Foxleap's head snapped up just in time to see Millie sink her teeth into the robin and take out a sickeningly large bite. She started to chew on it until her entire face froze and her jaw parted slightly in absolute horror and disgust. Both cats slowly looked down at the gaping hole in the robin to see maggots crawling around inside and a few flies buzzing around the outside of it.

Millie spat the chunk of meat out and shot to her feet, her claws unsheathing. Foxleap jumped up too but to explain his case more than anything. "Millie, I swear on my life I didn't know-"

"You fed me maggots, you cold-hearted piece of fox dung!" Millie screeched and everyone turned to watch the quarrel take place. And like with most things nowadays, Foxleap was in the middle of it all. "What did I ever do to you?"

"No, I didn't know! I only noticed right when you-" he was cut off again by the raging she-cat. When most warriors described their scariest memory, they would mention something including war, badgers, foxes, or maybe dogs, but if you asked Foxleap, there's no doubt in his mind that he would describe the time Mille tried to slaughter him.

"You probably noticed when you found it dead in the woods somewhere," Millie snarled.

"You fed her crowfood?" Berrynose asked and everyone made a face. But none of them came to Foxleap's aid, even though he clearly never meant to feed Millie bad prey. "That's cold, even for you."

"I didn't-" Foxleap paused and turned to Berrynose. "Wait, what's that supposed to mean?"

"Well you aren't exactly known for being friendly," Berrynose shrugged and the few cats around him sniggered. The only one who didn't was Mousewhisker who looked very sullen and had his head in his paws. "In fact, you're probably the most arrogant and disrespectful tom in the Clans, and that's coming from me."

"Well...maybe I've changed," Foxleap said and a stifle laughter washed across camp. His ears burned and no matter how desperately he wanted to yell at them all, accusing them of just being jealous, he knew he couldn't. Because if he did that then it meant that he hadn't changed and he'd just be proving them right. But he couldn't do that. "And to prove it, I'm, going to be the mature one in this situation; Millie, I apologize."

Nobody really knew what to do. The old Foxleap would have said it wasn't his fault and then stormed away. The old Foxleap would have gotten into a yelling match with Berrynose which would probably end with them both being punished. The old Foxleap would _not _apologize so did that mean that he actually changed? Or was he faking it all just to get attention?

These thoughts ran through everyone's head as they watched him carefully take the robins leg in his mouth and carry it to the fresh kill pile and dropping it for a second, only to sniff through the other pieces to find the freshest, fattest squirrel for Millie. He tossed it to the she-cat before picking up the robin again and trotting away.

It almost physically hurt Foxleap to back away from a fight like that - because there's no doubt in his mind that he would win - and do the right thing. Sure, 'the right thing' is the way of a warrior but it also dented his pride a little. Or so he thought...

The Clan stared at Foxleap in awe as he disappeared into the Dirtplace tunnel. Silence filled the camp as they all just processed what happened. Foxleap, the most unbearable, self-centred, mouse-brained idiot in the Clans had... been nice? Not only that but went out of his way to make sure Millie's maggot fate wouldn't fall into others paws. Foxleap was never this nice, not even as a kit.

"What... what just happened?" Berrynose asked, turning around with wide eyes.

"I - I think Foxleap was being... _kind,"_ Squirrelflight answered in just as much shock. Cinderheart, who was laying nearby with Lionblaze, had her mouth open and a mouse tail dangling from it. "But how?"

"What if," Graystripe paused for dramatic effect, "you were all being too hard on him and he's not actually as cold-hearted as you all think?"

There was a moment of silence before Berrynose burst out laughing, followed by his brother and then by everyone else in the camp, save for a few of the elders and Foxleap's direct family. Graystripe waited for the laughter to die down before he went on. "Just think about it, he may be self-centred and a bit stupid at times but he's also had no slack from his Clanmates. He made one mistake with his sister and everyone leaps at his throat. Is that really fair?"

"But he had it coming!" Dewpaw piped up. "He's one of the meanest cats in the Clan!"

"Is he really?" Graystripe asked aloud. "Not even a second ago he tried offering prey to my own mate but he just didn't check to see how good it was. The bird had maggots in it, I get it but Millie could have handled it herself and if worst comes to worst, I could have knocked Foxleap down a few notches but instead, the _entire camp _acted like he had just killed a kit."

Silence. But this time, it wasn't the silence before booming laughter or surprise. This time, they were actually thinking about what Graystripe said. He was right though; Berrynose wasn't in the conversation between Millie and Foxleap and without the cream coloured tom butting in, the argument would have settled down with Foxleap explaining what happened and Millie forgiving him like she always did.

"Maybe he has changed..." Rosepetal whispered softly. She was beginning to remember all the times Foxleap had caught her prey or took her out for moonlight walks when she couldn't sleep. That had been when he was only an apprentice and when most toms were at the cockiest stages of their lives. But somehow, Rosepetal had forgotten about all that because he had changed a little.

But maybe he was finally changing back to the same old Foxleap Rosepetal knew - and loved.

Spiderleg watched the commotion from the edge of the warriors den with a sly smirk on his face. He knew that the scenario wouldn't have happened yesterday if he hadn't met up with Swallowtail. So maybe it was against the Warrior Code but is the Code not there to make you the best cat you can be? And if Swallowtail was making Foxleap the best he could be then maybe it was for the best.

_Swallowtail_ was for the best.

* * *

Swallowtail padded into camp with a large hare dangling from her jaws. It had put up a good chase but ultimately, it couldn't outrun the strong legs of a WindClan warrior. She dropped it on the food pile and walked to an area of soft grass and dropped down. The sun was shining and she wanted to enjoy this peace for as long as she could before someone came and interrupted her.

"Hey Swallowtail." _Good riddance! _It was Leaftail, padding over after border patrol. Larkwing and Heathertail were behind him, rolling their eyes at his constant attempts to win over Swallowtail.

"Leaftail," Swallowtail responded politely. Even if her voice was _soft_, she really wanted him to hit his head on something _hard. "_How are the borders?"

"Some RiverClan scum almost walked over the borders today but we sent her back. No cat is too strong for WindClan," Leaftail huffed. Swallowtail desperately wanted to say something snarky but she held her tongue. She didn't want to make any enemy's.

But in truth, what Leaftail said was just plain idiotic. While hunting, she had seen Minnowtail wandering around RiverClan territory with a depressed look on her face. Swallowtail just assumed she had something troubling her and let the RiverClan cat be. She must have accidently wandered over the border just as Leaftail and his patrol came; meaning they chased out a _pregnant _she-cat who was just out for a walk.

"And how's the prey running?" Leaftail asked. Swallowtail was bored out of her mind but the tom was obviously trying to keep the conversation going.

"It's running," she answered blandly. She was about to say something about how she needed a rest when something cut her off - _someone_, actually.

Screams erupted from the nursery and everyone in the Clan leapt to their feet to go run to see who was screaming. Kestrelflight beat them all to it, shoving past Emberfoot and yelling at him to stay back. Swallowtail couldn't hear much about what was happening but she could hear lot's of screaming and crying. Emberfoot was laying on the ground, looking distraught as he sheathed and unsheathed his claws.

Because the screams could only belong to one cat - Sedgewhisker.

Swallowtail walked up to him and sat down next to him, comfortingly pressing his pelt to hers. "Don't worry, Emberfoot. She's my sister too and I wouldn't let anything happen to her."

"Just like you didn't let anything happen to Thistlepaw," he snarled. Swallowtail flinched back and her eyes welled up. Emberfoot's entire face fell as if he just realized what he had said. "I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to... I'm just so worried..."

"It's um, it's okay," Swallowtail tried. "You didn't mean it and I'm worried too."

But after she said it, Swallowtail padded away to wait for Kestrelflight somewhere else. Even if Emberfoot hadn't meant what he said, it still stung.

It seemed like hours before Kestrelflight finally emerged from the nursery. Everyone had been waiting for the good news of kits but when they saw his bloodied paws and his slumped shoulders, they knew it wasn't good news. When they heard the screams, they knew it was too early for Swallowtail to be kitting anyway and all the waiting had been a hopeless battle.

Swallowtail and Emberfoot ran up to the medicine cat. "How- how is she?" Swallowtail managed to ask.

"She'll be fine but Emberfoot... I'm so sorry. She kitted too soon and they didn't make it. She's in the nursery now." Emberfoot didn't even wait for him to finish before he rushed into the nursery. From outside, Swallowtail could hear his soothing words and her muffled sobs.

Swallowtail didn't know what else to do but stand there, outside the nursery. She couldn't interrupt the mates and she couldn't just continue on with her day like nothing had happened. Because something had happened; her sister was _so _close to having the family she'd always wanted only to have it ripped away from her in a day.

But then again, at least Sedgewhisker had the chance at happiness. Deep down, Swallowtail knew the only chance she might have at a family was a certain ThunderClan tom.

**It was too short so I added on a Swallowtail POV just to lengthen it (and also fix a mistake I made hehe) but I hope you all enjoyed it! I don't know if I'll have enough time to write a Wednesday update but I'll try!**

**Kit of the Day**

**Smokekit by Stuffed Watermelon!**

**Question of the Day**

**What's the best Fanfiction you've ever read?**


	10. Chapter 10

**Sorry for the late chapter :3 It was Thanksgiving here in Canada and my family came home so I spent the weekend with them instead of writing. **

**Hollyleaf1243 - Thanks for your submissions! And I'm glad you found this story again because it'd be awful to lose a reader like you! Haha out of all those TV shows you listed, I only watch HIMYW and PLL... Kind of. To be honest I only ever watch the last episode of anything :3 It's a pretty horrible habit, I know.**

**EmberskyofShadowClan - I know, everyone needs to give Foxleap a break! And Graystripe is always right XD I like both of those authors! They're really talented but I haven't read the 2 stories you've mentioned yet! I'll check them out :)**

**LeafWishes - I know right! I feel so bad :'(**

**Lazy watermelon - Ahh thank you but it's not that great! I think we should make #TeamSwallowtail a thing though. Could you imagine if that started trending on twitter and no one knew what the heck was going on? XD Or anything related to FFN! Haha**

**TeamWRRSwarrior - Haha no it's not, I just wanted something good to read :) I'm going to have to check those out but I think I've read Flight of the Broken before! Those are fantastic titles for books though, hey? Like I'm the worst at creating titles! I have a story called Really? and then the sequels are going to be Seriously? and Honestly? haha! I'm not the most creative of the bunch!**

**Stream that Flows Around Rock - It's so hard to choose the best! Like there's never going to be one story that everyone agrees is amazing because everyone is going to have different opinions too! And I checked that out and I loved it! I checked out to see if they had anything else written but they didn't :(**

**WishieStarligh - I tried to look for it but I couldn't find it! Who's it by?**

**EradrinSkyleaf - AAAH I KNOW! Everyone is so talented and trying to choose makes my brain hurt :( **

**Lolkat123 - Thanks for the kit! In this fic, ThunderClan kind of reminds me of a high school and then the elders are the teachers (Always teaching the young ones and knocking some sense into them) and then the leader is the principal, and everyone else is a student. They're always stirring up drama and someone is always getting pregnant -_- **

* * *

Chapter Ten

If Swallowtail could only use one word to describe WindClan, it would be _empty._

It wasn't that the camp itself was empty because there was the same amount of cats, entering and leaving camp and trying to make life go on. But it was the cats themselves that were empty. It was as if Sedgewhisker's miscarriage had sucked all the life out of everyone and now they were just hollow shells of what they once were.

Their eyes were numb and no one dared to smile, not even if it was a pity one. Their movements were stiff and controlled like StarClan warriors were standing around them, physically forcing the camp to wake up, go hunting, and carry on. So even if the air was tense and filled with heartbreak, mourning, despair, and grief, there was no better word to sum it all up other than empty.

And after a day of being empty, Swallowtail couldn't take it anymore. She couldn't handle watching her sister lay on a patch of dry grass, staring at the ground all day. She couldn't watch as Emberfoot avoid everyone's gaze like he was a failure. She couldn't handle any of it.

So she left.

Swallowtail didn't utter a word as she stood, padding out of camp with feet as heavy as rocks and running to the ThunderClan border. She knew it was the middle of the day and that everyone would be more suspicious of her than they already were but she needed to see Foxleap. She needed to see someone who wasn't hollow and who could hopefully fill her up with a feeling other than hopelessness.

It didn't take her long to reach the border but getting Foxleap was a completely different story. It's a well known fact that Foxleap isn't the most helpful tom when it comes to warrior duties and from what she's heard, he's always off, trying to impress someone or complete some stupid challenge. She heard rumours about one of his newest ones but she wasn't sure what it was about, other than the fact that he was failing miserably at it.

So after waiting by the border for what seemed like moons and almost getting caught once, Swallowtail decided that it was time for drastic measures. She would have to go _look _for Foxleap. Even if that meant going into ThunderClan territory.

Swallowtail easily sailed over the small river that was used to separate WindClan from ThunderClan and darted into the forest before anyone could see her. She took a few tentative steps before realizing two things; One, anyone with a nose would be able to smell WindClan roaming freely through the forest and two, that she couldn't just roam freely through the forest.

Swallowtail dropped in a bush, rolling around and trying to cover herself with pines and leaves or anything that would hide the fresh scent of WindClan. It seemed like luck was on her side today because not even a few heartbeats after disappearing in a thick bush, a few ThunderClan warriors walked into view.

"Are you sure you smelt something, Dewpaw?" An older, fluffy white warrior asked. "I can't smell anything."

"That's because your senses are awful now that you're old," Dewpaw replied, screwing up his face. "I'm sure I smelled WindClan."

"We're right by the border, son. It's probably just the wind blowing their scent onto our territory. And WindClan cat would have bees in their brain if they thought they could sneak onto ThunderClan without getting caught.

_'Well then you must have bees in your brain if I'm standing this close to you without you even noticing,' _Swallowtail thought bitterly. The little jab at WindClan hadn't gone unnoticed and she definitely hadn't appreciated it.

"Let's finish our hunting trip then. I want to bring something back for Cherrypaw," Dewpaw replied happily as the pair trotted off. Once they were gone, Swallowtail finally started to realize what a horrible position she was in.

She was not only hiding in a bush, but she was hiding on _ThunderClan _territory to meet a _tom. _Nothing about that was right.

So like a noble warrior - and one who was scared out of her mind of getting caught - Swallowtail darted out of the bushes and made a run for the border. She could basically taste the rabbit on her tongue and the feeling of relief coming off her shoulders - until she ran into someone that is.

"Ugh, what stupid apprentice-" the tom broke off when he saw Swallowtail and she took a few tentative steps back.

The first thing she noticed about him were his brilliant amber eyes and she almost thought he was Foxleap for a moment until she looked at the rest of him. Long legs, black fur with a few gray strands and scars littering his pelt. It was Spiderleg, Foxleap's brother.

"What are you doing on ThunderClan territory?" he hissed, jumping to his feet. He glared at her for a second until he finally realized who she was, and then he stumbled back. "Swallowtail? W-what are you doing here?"

"Don't attack me!" Swallowtail pleaded. "I was just... IsnuckoutheretoseeFoxleapbecauseWindClanisreallysadtodayandIneededtotalktosomeoneandI'msosorryI'lljustgo!"

Swallowtail tried bolting past the tom but he stepped in her way. "Oh no you don't! Not until you tell me exactly what's going on!"

It was a little weird talking to Spiderleg like they were old friends and even though they'd talked to each other at a few Gatherings, they'd never been considered close. Swallowtail was pretty sure the only reason Spiderleg hadn't ripped off her pelt by now was because Foxleap must have told him a little about her. She had no idea how much Spiderleg actually knew though. Let alone about the challenge.

But Swallowtail explained everything anyway. She rushed through it, even jumping into a thorn patch when she thought she heard a patrol coming but it just turned out to be a squirrel. When she was finally out of breath, Spiderleg's expression hadn't changed and she felt her gut drop with every passing second. Finally he sighed and meowed, "I can't believe I'm saying this but meet Foxleap tonight at wherever you two met last time. You look like you need someone to talk to and Foxleap hasn't been having the best time in his life right now either."

"Really?" Swallowtail perked up, cocking her head to the side.

"Yes," Spiderleg grumbled. "I got you into this and there's no stopping Foxleap when he sets his mind on something."

"What do you mean?" Swallowtail blanked and Spiderleg's eyes widened.

"You don't know? Oh uh... never mind, just forget I said anything," he muttered and started leading her towards the border. "So are you coming tonight then?"

"Yes." Swallowtail nodded.

Spiderleg didn't say anything else as they walked the rest of the way to the border and she hopped gracefully over it. She dipped her head one last time at the older tom before she started to walk away again. But just as she thought she was in the clear and she could take off, Spiderleg called her back. "Swallowtail, one last thing!"

She turned around to see Spiderleg's amber eyes had gone cold. "You're just friends, Swallowtail. You'll never be his mate."

Swallowtail flinched back at the hostility in his voice. Just a second ago he was setting her up to stargaze with the tom and now he was telling her what she already knew? Weirdness must run in the family. "I know. You don't have to worry; he's only a friend."

Spiderleg nodded and started backing up before calling one last time. "And it better stay that way!" And then he disappeared into the forest.

Once he was gone, Swallowtail shook her head and started walking back to camp. His last words were on repeat in her mind and she couldn't help but mutter a quiet, "It will," under her breath.

But even as she said it, she could help but feel a twinge of guilt pierce her heart. It wasn't the kind of guilt you got when you took an extra piece of prey from the food pile or when you got in a fight with a sibling. This was the kind of guilt you felt when you _lied. _But Swallowtail wasn't lying when she said Foxleap was only a friend. She knew for a fact that she and Foxleap were completely platonic.

Nothing would ever happen between them.

_'So why do I feel so guilty_?'

**Meh. Sorry if this is short and bad, I've just had an awful week. **

**So I added some links in my profile to all the other writing sites where you can find me :) **

**Kit of the Day**

**Honeykit by Hollyleaf1243! And just a note, I've had 12 kit submissions in total, and only 4 are toms. So if you haven't submitted a kit, males would be appreciated.**

**Question of the Day**

**Have you ever broken any bones? If you have, how?**


	11. Chapter 11

**14 reviews? Holy! Thanks a lot guys! I don't know what I did to deserve it :D Here's an extra dramatic chapter that reveals a lot about Foxleap and why he is the way he is :)**

**Reviews**

**FrostFall37 - Thank you and hooray for Canada! Thanks for the submission by the way :)**

**Juliet's Shadow - Aw thanks! I definitely tried making it a little goofy and comedic but I wanted there to be an actual plot with feelings and some serious discussions. Thanks for the kits and I hope you like this update :)**

**Hollyleaf1243 - So I kind of enjoyed our little 5SOS fangirl conversation we have going on XD And yeah, it's an awful habit but for some reason, I cannot bring myself to watch every episode of a series! I do it with books too and if I don't like the ending, I won't read the rest... It kind of ruins mystery novels though...**

**Lazy Watermelon - Hey Emma! Haha I feel all special now because I know your first name! (I'm Tegan btw :)) And there's a little note at the bottom of the chapter relating to submitting kits :/ Unfortunately it's not good but I love Oakkit so much already and AGHHH**

**Refire - Hey thank you for the kit but could you please read the note at the bottom of the chapter referring to submitting kits? Thank you for putting time and energy into thinking up Tabbykit though!**

**Embersky - Thanks! After eleven chapters it's about time they started developing feelings XD Ooh stitches sounds awful! What happened?**

**Snowsong - Ouch! I think you're one of the only reader to actually have broken a bone though! Here's the next chapter, a day late though :3**

**Birdflame - I know! I hate that he died :'( I'm just pretending it doesn't exist... And Spiderleg is just full of surprises isn't he?**

**Stuffed Watermelon - Chicken bones, human bones? They're basically the same thing!**

**Swiftstar - Thank you so much! I hope you like this chapter :)**

**hollyleaf1122 - TAP ON WOOD AND THE JINX WON'T COME TRUE! And it's about time, hey?**

**QLKwriter - Thanks! And it's good that you haven't broken any bones but the scars thing kind of sucks :( How'd you get them if you don't mind me asking? If it's personal, you don't have to answer!**

**Stream that Flows Around Rock - I PM'd you about the kits but idk if you got it yet! And haha I love it so much! It's really hard to find a good fanfiction around here :)**

Chapter Eleven

Foxleap woke up to someone prodding him sharply in the side. His eyes flickered open to see two dark, amber eyes staring down at him. He felt like this happened way too often; him waking up to someone standing over him. It was starting to get real old, real fast.

"What now?" Foxleap groaned, rolling away from Spiderleg. His brother had been trying to talk to him all day but Foxleap was too busy trying to get everyone to like him again. He had gone hunting and caught Millie fresh prey, collected fresh moss for Cinderheart since Cherrypaw obviously wasn't able to, and went on two border and three hunting patrols. It was safe to say that Foxleap was exhausted.

"You need to go meet someone," Spiderleg said and Foxleap groaned again, not understanding who the tom was referring to. "No, Foxleap, I mean you _actually _have to go and meet someone. _Now_."

"Whoever it is, they can wait," Foxleap snapped and closed his eyes again. He curled up into a tight ball, covering his nose with his tail. "Forever."

Spiderleg rolled his eyes. "No she can't. You need to go meet a special _bird _tonight at very _windy _place," Spiderleg urged, trying to explain to Foxleap that he needed to meet up with Swallowtail. Spiderleg knew that apprentices - and even some warriors - could be especially nosey and might eavesdrop so he wanted to make sure no one heard.

"I already went hunting today, Spiderleg. ThunderClan doesn't need me to catch another bird," the reddish-brown tom mumbled. Suppressing a growl, Spiderleg tried again.

"Are you sure? I would love to _swallow _one. I especially love the tail. Oh, how I love to _swallow tails," _Spiderleg hissed painfully slowly. Foxleap didn't pick up on it though and snorted.

"Birds don't even have tails, all they have are feathers. Nobody eats just pure feathers," Foxleap scoffed without even opening an eyes. By now, Spiderleg was starting to lose his temper and he was giving his brother one last chance before he absolutely flipped.

"Foxleap, I really think you should go meet this _bird _in a very _windy _place who has such a nice _tail _that I wouldn't mind _swallow-_ing."

"Catch your own bird, I'm trying to sleep," Foxleap huffed and Spiderleg finally exploded.

In that moment, Spiderleg almost ripped out Foxleap's heart.

"Go meet Swallowtail by the WindClan border, you mousebrain!" Spiderleg screamed, roughly cuffing Foxleap over the ear. "For StarClan's sake, Cinderheart's unborn kits would have understood what I was trying to say!"

Foxleap sat up, half of the fur on his face was matted and sticking to his head. "Swallowtail? Well why didn't you just say so?" he asked stupidly.

Spiderleg rolled his eyes and dug his unsheathed claws into Foxleap's nest. "Because I was trying to be discrete! How could you have not have picked up my code words? Bird, swallow, tail? _Swallowtail_!"

Foxleap frowned and narrowed his eyes, trying to piece together Spiderleg's message. Finally, his amber eyes lit up with understanding and a dopey grin fell over his face. "Oh, I get it now." And for the second time that day, Spiderleg wouldn't have minded slaughtering his own brother. Foxleap's face fell again and wrinkled in confusion. "Wait, why do I have to meet her? And why are you setting me up with her?"

Spiderleg sighed. He knew the whole story but figured it'd be easier if Swallowtail told it. It would take too long to explain it all and Foxleap should have probably already be with Swallowtail by now. "Just... just go meet her. She'll explain everything."

"Uh, okay?" Foxleap frowned standing up.

"And Foxleap, I told her this but I want to make sure this as clear as possible: you're only friends. You aren't mates and you will never _be _mates. Understand?" Spiderleg clarified and Foxleap nodded almost instantly.

"Obviously," he huffed. "It's like you have no faith in me," he muttered as he padded out of the den.

As Spiderleg watched the young tom leave, he couldn't help but shake his head. '_There's a reason for that...'_

* * *

Foxleap padded out of a bush to see a pretty grey she-cat sitting under the sliver of a moon. Her green eyes were dull and her shoulders were slumped. He had seen Swallowtail go through many emotions, but miserable was never one of them

"Swallowtail?" he called out softly and the pretty she-cat looked up, hope washing over her eyes.

"Oh thank StarClan you came," she breathed. "If you didn't I don't know how much longer I would have lasted in in WindClan. I'm suffocating in there."

"W-what happened?" Foxleap asked as Swallowtail leapt over the stream and padded towards Foxleap. They settled down under a tree so they would be able to see the fields of WindClan without being immediately spotted. "Spiderleg didn't say much, only that I had to meet you here."

Swallowtail let out a breath before she retold what happened. She started with Sedgewhsiker losing her kits and how empty WindClan was after that. It was like the clouds had grown as heavy as rocks and they were pressing down on everyone's shoulders. She told about how she tried looking through ThunderClan to find Foxleap and running into Spiderleg instead.

"And after I left, I went back to camp and it was even worse than before," Swallowtail grimaced. "Sedgewhisker was having a breakdown. Kestrelflight had to give her five poppy seeds just to calm her down and Emberfoot had to hold her down just to keep her calm. I don't..." she trailed off, took a deep breath and tried again. "Have you ever seen your sister so hysterical that she can barely breathe?"

Foxleap froze as an image forced its way into his mind.

_"Icecloud?" Foxleap called out softly. It had been three days after the battle with the Dark Forest and he had barely seen his sister since. Whenever he had seen her, she was either dropping some prey at Dustpelt's feet or just leaving camp. He didn't know where she went but whenever he tried chasing after her, she would sprint away._

_But not this time. This time Foxleap had quietly padded after her, always keeping a few fox-lengths back and staying out of sight. She had led him to the far side of camp where the trees towered over them and the entire area held just a little more dread. He watched as she calmly padded to a fallen tree and settled down at the mangled roots._

_Foxleap didn't reveal himself as he watched her for what seemed like moons. She just lay there with her eyes glazed over and her claws slowly sheathing and unsheathing. Finally, just as he was about to leave her be, she stood up. _

_Icecloud started pacing back and forth, digging her long claws into the ground wherever she stepped. She was muttering to herself and Foxleap could just barely make out a few words. "Gone...never coming back... couldn't save her... why'd they do this to us... StarClan... Ferncloud."_

_Ferncloud._

_She had come here every day to mourn Ferncloud in peace. Dustpelt was devastated over his mate's death and it was a silent agreement between the large family that they would stay strong for their father. They couldn't break down like he was or it would just ruin him more. So they all kept their tears to themselves and carried on with life like nothing had changed; like they hadn't lost a mother._

_Foxleap didn't let himself mourn. He didn't even let himself think about Ferncloud. He didn't want to end up like Dustpelt and he wanted to be strong for his family._

_But not everyone could be so strong._

_Icecloud let out a shrill screech as she raked her claws down the fallen tree. Only then did Foxleap see the deep scars in the bark. There were so many of them, some fresh and others a few days old. "Why, why, why, why, why!" Icecloud screamed, clawing the tree with every word. "Why did she have to die? Why did you take her? Why couldn't you stop her?"_

_Foxleap stepped forward, stepping on a branch and making his sister whirl around to glare at him. She didn't even look surprised that he was there, just angry and miserable. "You!" she snarled. "Why didn't you save her? You just let her die!"_

_"Icecloud..." Foxleap whispered as he watched his sister slowly slide to the ground, shaking with silent sobs. _

_"You let her die... she's gone because of you," Icecloud spat. "And she's never coming back."_

_Foxleap silently padded over to his sister and curled up next to her, letting her bury her face in his fur. He quieted her down, soothingly licking her ear to calm her. Finally, when she was only shaking instead of screaming, he whispered, "I'm sorry I let her die. I'm so sorry I let you down..."_

_'I'll never let you down again_,_' Foxleap whispered as he stared at the broken she-cat by his side. 'I'll be the best I can be so you never feel like this again. I'll be the strongest, fastest, and bravest warrior in all the Clans so you have a brother to be proud of and one who will never let anything hurt you. I promise you.'_

"Foxleap?"

Foxleap was snapped out of his daydream by Swallowtail. "I have," he finally said. "I've seen my sister so hysterical that she couldn't breathe before. I promised her that I'd never let her feel like that again."

Swallowtail nodded and opened her mouth to answer but was cut off.

"I knew it."

Both cats leapt to their feet and whirled around to come face-to-face with a familiar gray and white tom. Mousewhisker.

"Mousewhisker, I can explain-" Foxleap started but the older tom silenced him with the flick of a tail.

"Save it, I've seen enough to know what's going on. I heard Spiderleg tell you to meet her here and I had to see it myself," he muttered looking down. He looked up again and Foxleap swore he had never seen eyes so cold. "I should tell Bramblestar. I should tell them that you've been sneaking here to meet a _WindClan _warrior and that you're not as loyal as you claim to be."

"No it's not what it looks-" Swallowtail tried but was cut off when Mousewhisker started speaking again.

"But I won't."

Neither Swallowtail nor Foxleap knew what to say to that one. Mousewhisker had found out that they were breaking one of the most important laws and he _wasn't _going to tell on them? Now they were just confused.

"W-what?" Foxleap stuttered, staring at the tom.

"I won't tell on you. I'll pretend like this never happened and I'll continue living my life like I never saw you two here," Mousewhisker explained confidently. "It'll be our little secret."

"Are- are you being serious right now?" Swallowtail asked quietly. "You aren't going to tell?"

Mousewhisker shook his head and glanced at the sky. "You should head back though. Someone will notice you're missing." And with that, he turned and padded away. But right before he disappeared into the forest, he turned to glance at Foxleap with a far-off look in his eyes. "And Foxleap, I'd be careful if I were you."

"Why?" Foxleap asked cautiously.

"She's going to rip your heart out."

**Kind of a cliffhanger I guess? I could have continued but I really liked where that ended. You know, because of the whole MinnowxOwlxMouse fiasco? Anyway, I hope you enjoyed! Sorry this is a day late by the way, I just had a few tweeks I had to make and I was super busy yesterday to post :)**

**Kit of the Day**

**Stormkit by Dark Gambler! I'm super excited to write for her! Congratulations!**

**Question of the Day**

**What's your biggest pet peeve? (Fanfiction and Reality)**

**P.S. Just a reminder that only two kits are allowed per person! Also, I'm RIDICULOUSLY sorry about this but guests can't submit kits... unless you can get in touch with me over something else (All my accounts are at the bottom of my profile) then I'm sorry but I can't accept your submission :'( It's just because I need to stay in touch and discuss the kits and everything and I can't do that because I can't talk to you guys privately...**


	12. Chapter 12

**ASDFGHJKL; GUYS WE REACHED A HUNDRED REVIEWS! THAT MEANS BOTH MY MAJOR STORIES HAVE REACHED 100 REVIEWS AND I'M JUST SO HAPPY RIGHT NOW YOU GUYS HAVE NO IDEA! There's going to be another bonus scene at the end, but instead of something that happens _during_ the storyline, this is something that I was going to write but I didn't like the way it fit in with the rest of the story. It's REALLY short though but it would have completely changed the storyline.**

**Reviews**

**rainpool777 - Haha I see what you did there ;) And here's your update! Sorry it's a day late though!**

**Wood Cats - Thanks for your reviews! And we don't know what's in store for Mouse/Minnow and Fox/Swallow yet so maybe some of your ideas will actually happen! But we'll have to see ;) Unfortunately guests can't submit kits and if you want to know why, there's an A/N about it in the last chapter :( I'm sorry but thank you for the submission anyway!**

**Embersky - I love Spiderleg! I loved him in the books and I've kind of fallen in love with my own portrayal of him XD Haha Foxleap really isn't the sharpest tool in the box, hey? And omg that sounds awful! Did you just wake up in a pool of blood or something? D:**

**Amberpool - I just messaged them to you and I can't wait to hear the new names you come up with :) **

**Lazy Watermelon - I like your current name but I really like Riverfall too! If you were to make an account which name would you go by then? And I would LOVE to read Sunstream's Sacrifice! What's it about? :) Oh and btw, if killing animals upsets you, don't watch John Wick! The whole thing is based on someone killing his dog...**

**Redfire - Ah okay! Well can you PM me when you do get on? Just to be sure so I can add your kit to the list :)**

**Ruby- Thanks!**

**QLKwriter - Thank you and yeah, that's why he said it. Because he was in the same situation and then out of no where she breaks his heart so he's kind of going through this anti-female phase right now. Ugh I know what you mean about annoying people... some people in my science classes are just... I have no words to describe how much they frustrate me! And ouch, that sounds painful! O.o**

**Stuffed Watermelon - I see where you're coming from but remember that Mousewhisker was also in a forbidden relationship with Minnowtail. He can't just be with a RiverClan cat one second and then tell everyone about Foxleap the next! I can't imagine Mousewhisker as a hypocrite and that's why I wrote him like that :) He's kind of trying to teach Foxleap a lesson!**

**Birdflame - lol no he's not a stalker but he's not quite jealous either. I think the best word to describe him would be bitter. And I cannot stand bad spelling/grammar. I get it when there's one or two mistakes per chapter but it's ridiculous when there's like five in a sentence!**

**Juliet's Shadow - Thanks and so do I :'( Mousewhisker has just got it rough! Also, I love them, thank you so much :)**

**EradrinSkyleaf - I PM'd you about the kit thing so all I have to say is here's another update and I hope you like it :)**

**Answer of the Day**

**Honestly, so many things bug me but I kind of despise the education system. It's kind of ridiculous and if anyone wants to rant about it with me, shoot me up a message and we can hate on it together.**

* * *

Chapter Twelve

The next few days passed for Foxleap in a blur.

Other than his warrior duties, he was either doing one of two things; meeting up with Swallowtail or avoiding Mousewhisker at all costs. Foxleap would sleep in until almost Sunhigh and then when he finally awoke, he would volunteer for nearly every patrol Bramblestar would allow him on. And then, when he was so exhausted that his bones felt like water, he would drag himself through the forest to see Swallowtail.

And then, they would talk about anything; about how Sedgewhisker was doing - she was slowly but surely healing - or about how amazing Foxleap was and the conversations would always include lot's of dry humour and eye rolling, mostly from Swallowtail's part. And after, Foxleap would carry himself back to camp and collapse in his nest without anyone knowing he was gone.

But then Mousewhisker was a different story. The tom acted like nothing was wrong and that's what worried Foxleap.

Because while he padded around camp like the same old Mousewhisker, hunted the same amount as normal, and spent his day talking to Hazeltail, Foxleap knew he could explode any moment. Mousewhisker held the fate of Foxleap's life in his paws and the thought _terrified_ him.

And it should be noted that Foxleap does _not _get scared of much.

Foxleap sighed as he watched the gray and white tom pad out of camp with Bumblestripe and Dovewing. A part of him was relieved that Mousewhisker had left camp but him leaving with two other warriors only scared Foxleap more.

"Do you have a crush on Mousewhisker or something?"

Foxleap jumped when he heard the voice. Turning around, he saw that it was Blossomfall with an amused look on her face. "What?"

"Are you in love with Mousewhisker? I mean, you've been staring at him for the past few days, you've been sighing whenever he leaves and if he so much as says one thing, you're there, hanging off his every word. So what is it? You got rejected by all the she-cats in ThunderClan so you're moving on to the single toms, is that it?" she asked, plopping down next to Foxleap.

"Uh, no, that's not it," Foxleap replied, shooting the cat a weird look.

"Then what is it?" Blossomfall pressed.

"Nothing! I literally don't know what you're talking about," Foxleap lied. Okay, so maybe he could see where she was coming from but Foxleap does _not _love Mousewhisker!

Blossomfall rolled her eyes. "Please. I just saw you stare at his tail as he left, you're totally into him," she smirked. He knew that she was only joking but at that moment, Foxleap wouldn't have minded bashing his head against a rock.

"I'm not in love with Mousewhisker!" Foxleap screamed, exasperated. He could have turned down the volume a little though because the second the words left his mouth, everyone turned and stared at him with their jaws dropped. Berrynose's face was priceless though; he was talking to Poppyfrost and when Foxleap screamed, he tensed up and slowly turned towards Foxleap, his eyes growing every second. His jaw dropped and an indescribable emotion etched it's way onto his face.

Foxleap's ears burned and he ducked his head as Blossomfall laughed loudly. "I'm not in love with Mousewhisker," he hissed under his breath. "I just think he's... been acting a little different lately and I was wondering what was going on."

Blossomfall's face wrinkled up in confusion and it looked like she was comparing _then _Mousewhisker to _now _Mousewhisker. Finally, she nodded. "I guess, I mean he seems a little upset over something but he hasn't been moping around or anything. He just seems... different. I don't know, we've never been that close. I've never really had the time to get to know him."

_'You had plenty of time in the Dark Forest,' _Foxleap thought bitterly but bit his tongue. Blossomfall had come out loyal in the end but sometimes he couldn't help but feel betrayed. Everyone did so soon after the battle. "Right."

"I'm going to go see if Thornclaw wants to go hunting with me," she excused herself standing up. She was about to go but paused and looked down at Foxleap wearily. "Uh, would you like to come with us?"

Foxleap glanced up. "No thanks, I think I'll just go on a border patrol later instead," he replied nonchalantly and Bloosomfall shot him a weird look and padded away to go find Thornclaw. She found him stretched out in the sun, his eyes closed and a soft smile on his face. When she approached him, one eye opened and he rolled over so he wasn't on his back anymore.

"Hey, I was wondering if you wanted to come hunting with me?" she asked and Thornclaw nodded, silently getting to his paws and walking out of camp with the pretty tortoiseshell she-cat. Once they were out of camp, she turned to the tom with a confused look etched on her face. "Something weird just happened to me."

"What happened?" he chuckled.

"I was talking to Foxleap and he seemed... normal?" she screwed up her face at the thought.

"Wow, that sounds _crazy," _Thornclaw replied sarcastically, rolling his eyes and Blossomfall playfully cuffed him over the ear. "And from what I heard, he didn't sound that normal. He sounded like a crazy she-cat trying to convince her friends she's doesn't like someone. _'Blossomfall, I swear I don't like Mousewhisker! But I've seen the way that cute Thornclaw looks at you-_'"

His high-pitched impersionation was cut off when Blossomfall butt in, completely missing what he was trying to say to her.

"No, I don't mean normal for _Foxleap_, I mean normal for _us_!" she stressed but Thornclaw still didn't seem to get it. "I didn't realize it until the conversation was over but he was acting like a decent warrior, not the arrogant fur ball that we all know and hate. Okay look, I'll be me and you be Foxleap. Do your best Foxleap impression!"

"Uh, okay?" Thornclaw shot her a look but settled down anyway to play her ridiculous game.

"Hey Foxleap, want to go hunting with me and Thornclaw?"

"_Nah, I think I'll just stay here and flex my muscles some more. Maybe I'll come out later and kill a few dogs for Cinderheart's kits,_" Thornclaw answered in an overly deep voice - and that was saying something because Thornclaw's voice wasn't exactly soft and light. Sudddenly, Thornclaw made a face of disgust, breaking out of his Foxleap voice. "Wait, you invited him to come hunting with us?"

"Irrelevant," Blossomfall huffed. "But the point is, he didn't say that! He said _'no thanks_!'"

The tortoiseshell was met with a blank stare and she honestly just wanted to attack him and make him understand what she was getting at. '_Toms are so oblivious_!'

_"Foxleap - _the tom who thinks he's the world's gift from StarClan - politely rejected my request because he was going to do a border patrol later. Does that not sound the least bit strange to you?" she pressed and the golden brown tom blinked a few times.

"You know, when you say it like that, it does seem a bit odd. But hey, maybe Graystripe was right. Maybe he's really not as bad as everyone thinks and he's just having a hard time," Thornclaw shrugged. "Can we actually go hunting now? We can catch something for Cinderheart's kits and then maybe - hopefully - our future kits?"

"No, I need to figure this out," Blossomfall rejected him with a determined look on her face. It was like the words just _would not _register in her mind no matter how blatant Thornclaw was. "I'll talk to you later, once I find out more about the Foxleap situation."

And with that, she raced away, leaving Thornclaw dumbfounded and disappointed. Finally, after staring at the spot where she once stood, he shook his head and started in the opposite direction so he could _actually _hunt.

'_She-cats are so oblivious.'_

* * *

Foxleap swallowed the last bit of robin before pulling himself to his feet and looking around the camp. It was fairly empty with only Toadstep and Ivypool who were having a serious discussion by the nursery, Rosepetal and Icecloud who were whole-heartedly laughing by the fresh-kill pile, and then Squirrelflight who was resting in the sun. Not a few moments later, Mousewhisker, Dovewing, and Bumblestripe entered camp again, all carrying a few limp pieces of prey in their mouths.

Squirrelflight blinked open her eyes when the trio padded into camp and started towards them. Foxleap watched with mild interest as she talked to Mousewhisker, him nodding a few times, and then she jerked her head towards Foxleap. That part _really _got his attention and in the eleven seconds it took for Mousewhisker and Squirrelflight to walk over to Foxleap, he swore his heart stopped working.

"Foxleap, I overheard you said you wanted to go on border patrol so you, Mousewhisker, and Icecloud can go," Squirrelflight explained and Foxleap couldn't help but let out a breath he hadn't realized he was holding. So Squirrelflight didn't know his dirty little secret - not that it was so dirty since he and Swallowtail were only meeting as friends and nothing more.

"O-okay," Foxleap nodded as confidently as he could. The deputy padded away, thinking she hadn't just made the worst possible patrol in the history of the Clans, when in reality she did.

First there was Mousewhisker, and for obvious reasons, Foxleap didn't want to be near him. Was he keeping the secret so he had some leverage? Did he want to screw with Foxleap's mind? He always came across as an alright warrior with a sturdy head on his shoulders but what if that was all a hoax? What if Mousewhisker was really the next Tigerstar?

And then there was Icecloud. Even though she had stopped staring at Foxleap in disgust and ThunderClan had kind of calmed down over the whole Ivypool, Toadstep, Icecloud love triangle thing, there was still some tension between the siblings. Foxleap wouldn't be surprised if this was border patrol that ruined his life.

But Foxleap didn't say anything as he stiffly walked out of camp with Mousewhisker on one side and Icecloud on the other.

Icecloud was oblivious to the tension between Mousewhisker and Foxleap though and thought the ridiculous silence was because of her issues with Foxleap. So instead of trying to start some small talk, the patrol just awkwardly walked to the ShadowClan border and hoped they could get this over with as soon as possible.

But they knew that wasn't possible when they saw someone waiting for them.

Stoatfur, Owlclaw, and Scorchfur were by the border when ThunderClan appeared. From what Foxleap could see, they were doing exactly what ThunderClan was and marking up the borders again. Two of the three didn't look that bothered with Icecloud, Mousewhisker, and Foxleap showed up, but Owlclaw looked plain disgusted. "What are _you_ doing here?" he sneered but it seemed directed at Mousewhisker.

The fur on the gray-and-white toms back rose and his claws unsheathed. "Border patrol. I don't know if you've heard about it, it's something _real _warriors do."

Foxleap gaped at Mousewhisker when the words left his mouth. He had always been a calm and civil tom but now he was picking fights with ShadowClan? What was wrong with him?

Owlclaw snorted. "Right, since you're the definition of a real warrior. If it were up to me, you'd still be in the nursery," he spat and now it was ShadowClan's turn to gasp.

"Owlclaw!" Stoatfur hissed in shock. "The Clans are at peace, you don't need to go starting fights!"

"Why does it matter?" Owlclaw sneered. "Even if we fought, there's no way they'd win. I mean, they do have _Mousewhisker _on their side; it's a guaranteed victory for us!"

"You want to repeat that?" Mousewhisker snarled, stepping forward. "Let's see how tough you are when you're running back to you're mother. Oh wait... she's dead. She's so weak she couldn't even handle a few cats who were already dead to begin with."

It was like time froze when the words left his mouth and everyone stared in horror at what he had just said. Foxleap couldn't do anything but gape at him and wonder why in the world he would say something like that. Death was not something you joke about and the battle with the Dark Forest? Even worse.

Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, Owlclaw finally broke the silence by flinging himself over the border at Mousewhisker, bowling him over and landing blow after blow on the tom's chest.

Foxleap didn't know whether to fight someone or try and stop the fight. So instead of doing either, he just watched as the toms ripped each other to shreds. Stoatfur and Scorchfur looked like they had no idea of what to do either and the only one who actually did anything was Icecloud.

"Stop staring, you mousebrains!" she screeched. "Help me stop them!"

Foxleap and Scorchfur shared a confused look before hesitantly walking towards the two. Stoatfur took a few more heartbeats but finally followed the other toms in trying to break up the fight. Foxleap grabbed Mousewhisker by the scruff and tried pulling him away with Icecloud's help while ShadowClan dealt with Owlclaw.

When the fight was actually happening, Foxleap hadn't thought it looked so serious but when he finally got a good look at Mousewhisker, he cursed himself for not stopping it sooner. Mousewhisker's ears were shredded and his white chest was stained red. He was missing a few tufts of fur and his face was now littered with fresh, pink, cuts. Owlclaw was only in slightly better condition.

"I think it's just best that we left," Stoatfur muttered looking down.

"I think so too," Foxleap agreed as he and Icecloud held down a raging Mousewhisker. He couldn't take his paws off of the tom until Stoatfur and Scorchfur had successfully dragged Owlclaw away. Even once they were gone, Foxleap could still hear them yelling at him for being stupid, cruel and irrational.

"You..." Icecloud started to yell but trailed off with a shake of her head. "I don't even know what to say to you right now. Let's just get you back to camp and Bramblestar can deal with you."

Mousewhisker sneered, spitting little droplets of blood on Icecloud's white pelt. "Don't act like you're so high and mighty, Icecloud. Let's not forget that you attacked Ivypool not that long ago. And besides, it's not like I insulted _you."_

Icecloud flinched back as if she had been struck before her blue eyes narrowed and she took a step back. Mousewhisker's entire face fell when he realized what he had said but she cut him off before he could apologize. "You're a sick creature, Mousewhisker. I don't know what happened to make you like this but you're disgusting!"

And with that, Icecloud turned and sprinted away, back to camp. Foxleap sighed and silently helped Mousewhisker to his feet, letting the tom lean on his frame as they stumbled back to camp. The only thing Foxleap said the whole trip was, "And for the record, our mother died in that battle too so yes, you insulted us. I hope you're happy."

* * *

Deleted Scene

Foxleap stared at the darkening sky as cats started heading into their dens to get ready for sleep. He would have too but he wanted to stare at the sky a little longer, just like he did that one night with Swallowtail. _Swallowtail..._

The reddish-brown tom sighed as he waited for Silverpelt to come out. It wasn't as fun waiting for the stars to start shining when he didn't have anyone to talk to in the process. He _could _ask someone in the camp to watch them with him but considering the only cats who didn't look like they were going to sleep anytime soon was Jayfeather and Berrynose, he figured he'd just be better on his own.

Foxleap took in a deep breath and exhaled, but not before an unwanted smell entered his nose. It smelled fishy... Foxleap shot up and as loud as he could, yelled, "RiverClan is here! They're attacking!"

Suddenly the camp was filled with warriors, unsheathing their claws and getting ready to rip apart a RiverClan raid. Whitewing's mouth was open and she was the first one to realize it. "Wait... nobody is attacking. There's only one or two cats coming!"

"But RiverClan is still here?" Dustpelt hissed. "Attack first, ask questions later."

"You will do no such thing," Bramblestar snapped, stepping forward and shooting a glare at the senior warrior. "RiverClan might need our help."

"They can ask ShadowClan then," Dustpelt spat but the leader didn't respond. He was too busy staring with wide eyes at the two cats that entered the camp. First, Mousewhisker stepped into view, his head dropped and not meeting anyone's gaze. And then stepped... Minnowtail?

Whispers erupted and accusations were called out. No one was expecting an attack or getting ready to help aid RiverClan; they all knew why Minnowtail was standing in front of them. She was pregnant and the father was right beside her.

"Mousewhisker, please tell me this isn't what I think it is." But Mousewhisker didn't move when Bramblestar said the words. Instead, his shoulders slumped even more than they were. Minnowtail glanced at her mate before taking in a brave breath and confidently saying the five words no one wanted to hear.

"I'm here to join ThunderClan."

**I just want to say that first, the reason Mousewhisker is like this is because he's still bitter because of the thing that happened with Minnowtail. He's just been trying to hide it so it's been building and building and now seeing Owlclaw - the guy he _thinks _had kits with Minnowtail - just made him break. Remember how crazy Ashfur went? It's a little bit like that.**

**And how did you guys like the deleted scene? Once again, that's never going to happen in this fic but I thought it'd be fun to show you what could have been :) I quite like this chapter though. Tell me what you guys think! **

**Kit of the Day**

**Frogkit by Juliet's Shadow! **

**Question of the Day**

**IvyxToad, SedgexEmber, IcexToad, or MinnowxMouse?**


	13. Chapter 13

**Hey friends! The bonus scene I had at the end of last chapter was actually a DELETED scene so it never happened :) It was something that could have happened but didn't. This is what _would have_ happened; instead of Minnowtail ending it with Mousewhisker, she let Owlclaw tell on her so she was kicked out of RiverClan and with no where else to go, she joined ThunderClan. But again, that DID NOT HAPPEN and Mousewhisker still hates Owlclaw and Minnowtail. It was just a deleted scene :) **

**Reviews**

**Stream that Flows Around Rock - Okay first off, I switched Lighteningkit for Darkkit just because I needed more males but I loved them both so much! I know I feel bad for Mousewhisker even though I wrote it :'( And haha yes! It's only been like 10 days or so of this challenge and look at everything that's happened!**

**QLKwriter - Thank you :) And I'm going to try and fit in some Ice/Toad scenes in for the people who like them! It's so confusing when you say it like that haha! That last scene was a deleted scene so Minnowtail never came to ThunderClan but I really like your thoughts on it! And as for Minnowtail's feelings, she's hurt, betrayed and lost. She just lost not only a mate, but a friend and now she has no one left. :'(**

**Juliet's Shadow - Yeah, they're kind of cute, hey? :3 And I really like using situational irony because I feel like it's more realistic. Like everyone has their own problems and obviously the main character wouldn't know everything going on. **

**Swiftstar - Ah I love them too :3**

**FrostFall37 - Thank you! I'm going to be adding more IcexToad scenes in because so many people love them.**

**Light Years - Sorry for shortening your name but I really like it btw! Ah I love writing Thornclaw and I'm glad you liked his impression. I love it when in Fanfiction, the character gives bigger roles to smaller characters. I'm a sucker for characters that don't get big parts because I feel like they have so much potential and that's why I'm making big stories out of Mousewhisker, Toadstep, and Owlclaw. I feel like they don't get enough credit so I try making them more than just 'characters to fill up space' if you know what I mean.**

**Wood Cats - I love writing for them too :) And thank you, I really enjoyed writing it! And not exactly, this was a deleted scene so it never actually happened so unfortunately, Minnow is still in RiverClan and they're still broken up. **

**Shira the Mage - Ah I love them too! I like writing all the drama between them :)**

**Birdflame - Mousewhisker just can't get a break, huh? But haha I'm glad you like at least three of the shippings! **

**Anova00 - They're fun to write too! **

**MillyKitty101 - Yeah that's what a lot of people have been saying!**

**Embersky - I'm glad you liked it! I was going to add it in but I didn't like the way it would have turned out. Could you imagine how different the story would be if Minnowtail was in ThunderClan? Haha I love Blossomfall! I didn't until I started this story but she's grown on me :) And ouch! Sometimes I wake up and there's random scratches on my legs but never anything too extreme!**

**Snowfeather - Yeah Mousewhisker isn't one of the friendliest cats at the moment :/ And I swear everyone loves MinnowxMouse at the moment but when you really think about it... nobody has really seen a lot of them as a couple, we've just seen the effect of their romance. But I admit, I love them :3**

**Emma - Ahh cool name! Haha and I won't kill Mousewhisker, I promise :) Honestly, the thought never crossed my mind until you brought it up! There will be someone dying relatively soon though. I'm not quite sure when but I'm still contemplating who I want to kill off... any suggestions? It has to be a ThunderClan though!**

**Answer of the Day**

**Okay so unlike everyone else, I actually like Sedgewhisker and Emberfoot the best. I don't know, they just seem the most realistic, you know? Like while everyone else has these ridiculous love triangles, they're just buddies/lovers who bug Foxleap and Swallowtail about liking each other but they're also there for each other in hard times. But I definitely like writing for MinnowxMouse the most! So much drama!**

Chapter Thirteen

"Beginning, middle, end. Tell me all of it."

Foxleap nodded at Bramblestar's orders as they stood in his den with Icecloud and Squirrelflight. When Icecloud stormed into camp, talking about Mousewhisker being evil and attacking ShadowClan and then with Foxleap and Mousewhisker limping in later, it was safe to say there was havoc in the camp. Berrynose and Hazeltail were fiercely defending their brother while Birchfall, Spiderleg and Dustpelt were making sure Icecloud and Foxleap were okay.

Bramblestar and Squirrelflight entered camp a few moments later to see everyone shouting at each other, Leafpool and Jayfeather shoving everyone aside to try to help Mousewhisker, and Graystripe sleeping like a rock in the midst of it all. Bramblestar herded the two uninjured cats into his den so he could interrogate them and try to get to the bottom of all the chaos.

"Scorchfur, Stoatfur, and Owlclaw were doing border patrol when we arrived to remark the borders. It wouldn't have been a big deal if Owlclaw and Mousewhisker didn't start insulting each other," Foxleap explained. "Owlclaw attacked Mousewhisker first and the rest of us just split up the fight."

"What exactly was said between the two?" Squirrelflight asked when Foxleap finished talking.

Icecloud and Foxleap shared a look before Icecloud answered. "Owlclaw called Mousewhisker weak and Mousewhisker said..." she could barely even spit the words out.

"He said..." Bramblestar urged.

"Mousewhisker made fun of Tallpoppy, Owlclaw's _dead _mother. He said she was so weak she couldn't even fight cats who were already dead," Foxleap finished and silence filled the den as they let the words register in their minds.

"He _what?" _Bramblestar snapped, his eyes darkening and his claws unsheathing and digging into the ground.

"That's when Owlclaw snapped and attacked Mousewhisker," Icecloud added. "They're both to blame for the fight but Mousewhisker crossed the line."

"Trust me, he won't go unpunished for this one," Bramblestar fumed and Foxleap was suddenly hit by a wave of guilt. Even though Mousewhisker was the cause for his stress lately and _did _go too far with the dead mother joke, he still kept Foxleap's secret. How would Mousewhisker react when he found out Foxleap was the reason for him being severely disciplined?

"Wait!" Foxleap stood up, stopping Bramblestar who was just about to storm out of his den. "Mousewhisker went _way _too far with the joke but he... he's not the only one to blame."

"What do you mean?" Icecloud asked, standing up and shooting Foxleap a confused look.

"Icecloud, you don't have to cover for me anymore," Foxleap lied. "I... I was the one to start the fight. When they asked why we were so close to the border, I challenged them. I told them ShadowClan was pathetic and that they were full of cowards. Owlclaw snapped back at me and Mousewhisker was just defending me. He went too far with it though and that's what started the border skirmish."

"Foxleap-"

"It's fine Icecloud," Foxleap cut her off. "Mousewhisker would have told them the truth anyway so I figured I'd just tell them myself and save both our pelts."

"Why didn't you tell us this earlier?" Squirrelflight snapped and Foxleap raised and lowered a non-committable shoulder.

"I was hoping you would just take our word for it but then I realized Mousewhisker would tell you the full story," Foxleap lied through his teeth. Icecloud was staring at her brother with a baffled look on her face.

"Typical," Bramblestar huffed under his breath. "Icecloud, you can go back to regular duties. Foxleap, you and Mousewhisker will be punished accordingly."

"Right," Icecloud breathed, still looking shocked at what she just heard. As much as she loved Foxleap, he wasn't known for taking the blame for anything and this was definitely out of character for him.

"Foxleap, you stay here until Jayfeather fixes Mousewhisker up. I'll go fetch Mousewhisker so we can figure out the _full _story. Knowing you, you probably left out a badger just to save your stupid reputation" Squirrelflight rolled her eyes as she left the den, followed by Icecloud, who _still _looked in shock. A few moments later, Mousewhisker was limping into the den, shame filling his eyes.

"So from what we've heard, Foxleap was the one who started the fight, calling ShadowClan cowards and you took it too far by making fun of Owlclaw, is that correct?" Bramblestar clarified and Mousewhisker's head snapped up, looking at Foxleap in confusion.

"Okay, the fact that everyone's acting so surprised that I started telling the truth all the sudden is actually kind of offensive," Foxleap huffed. Realization fell across Mousewhisker's face when he finally figured out what Foxleap was doing. And then, her looked nothing but grateful.

_'Yeah, you're welcome. But stop making that moon-y face. You'll give away my whole lie,' _Foxleap thought to himself.

"Y-yes, that's correct," Mousewhisker stuttered. "I've been having a difficult couple of days and I guess I finally just snapped."

"Well if you could not do that, that'd be fantastic," Squirrelflight spat sarcastically. Bramblestar gave her a disapproving look but didn't say anything about it.

"Both are you are staying in camp the next few days. The only reason you are to leave is to use the Dirtplace or if there is an emergency." Foxleap wanted to yell at his leader but bit his tongue. The punishment could have been a lot worse. "But that's not all."

Perfect. Foxleap knew he shouldn't have been so hopeful.

"With her sprained ankle, Cherrypaw hasn't been able to do any of her regular duties and has been cleaning the elders den since she was hurt. So Mousewhisker, you will take over her duties. That includes cleaning the elders den, cleaning them of ticks, making sure they're fed and are comfortable," Bramblestar explained and Mousewhisker nodded. He didn't look happy about it but he didn't say anything.

"And Foxleap," Bramblestar turned to the reddish brown tom and he felt his gut drop. "Being the reason for Cherrypaw's injury, I'd at least expect you to visit her once or twice. But since that's not the case, while you are banned to camp, you will be taking care of Cherrypaw. This means getting her prey if she's hungry, talking to her if she's lonely and if she has so much as one thistle in her bedding, you're banned to camp for the rest of the moon. That goes for you too, Mousewhisker."

"Yes, sir," Mousewhisker nodded but all Foxleap could do was gape.

Sure, he liked Cherrypaw. She could be annoying at times and picked up a bit of her father's attitude but she was generally okay to be around. But that didn't mean he wanted to spend his days following her around when he could be doing more to make his Clanmates like him. It would also make him even more tired when he had to go meet up with Swallowtail.

"This is starting today," Squirrelflight piped up. "And from what I hear, Cherrypaw is really craving some robin right now. So if you ever want to leave this camp, I'd hop to it."

"Right, whatever," Foxleap muttered bitterly as he turned and stomped out of the den. He could hear Squirrelflight scoff from behind him and mutter something about him being 'too old to have a tantrum.' He couldn't exactly blame her for thinking that but Foxleap was too good to be taking care of some dramatic apprentice because of something he didn't do.

"Why did you do that?" Icecloud hissed when Foxleap stepped out of the den. "You didn't do anything! You shouldn't be punished for it!"

"I don't know what you're talking about," Foxleap mumbled. "I started the fight that caused Mousewhisker to get hurt."

"Right, and hedgehogs can fly," Icecloud snapped sarcastically. "Why did you cover for him? He deserved to get punished for what he said! You heard him, he made fun of Owlclaw's dead mother. That's awful!"

"Look, I just think he's going through a tough time," Foxleap shrugged as he padded towards the pile of fresh-kill. "He should know that his Clanmates are there for him even when he's at his lowest point."

Foxleap only half-believed the words that left his mouth. Sure, he knew Mousewhisker had been acting strange lately and it could be because something happened to him but in reality, Foxleap would never ruin his own day for the sake of his own Clanmate. As heartless as it may sound, it was true. "But I need to get this robin to Cherrypaw so I'll talk to you later then?"

"Yeah sure," Icecloud huffed, still bothered about the whole incident. "But I'd like my arrogant, self-centered brother back please."

Foxleap snorted. "I'm not arrogant _or _self-centered. Everything I've ever said about myself has been true. I mean, just look at me; I'm smart, I'm funny, I'm-"

"Okay, okay, you win, you're the best at everything," Icecloud laughed as her brother broke out into a wide grin. "I'll let you go see Cherrypaw and then we can catch up later."

"Sure," Foxleap purred one last time before he padded off to the apprentice's den. Icecloud walked off in the other direction, a silly smile on her face as she went to go find Rosepetal. Without even realizing it, Icecloud had forgiven her brother.

Foxleap trotted into the apprentice den where he could see a small pile of ginger fur laying in the corner. But when his eyes landed on Cherrypaw, he instantly felt nervous; he hadn't even come to visit her or apologize for hurting her - though he still believed it wasn't completely his fault - and she must hate him for it. "Uh, hey, Cherrypaw," he said quietly.

Cherrypaw glanced up, half of her fur matted to her face. But when she saw that it was only Foxleap, her face fell. "Oh."

_'Oh? Off to a great start, Foxleap_.'

"I heard you wanted a robin so-"

"It's fine, Dewpaw already gave me one," she sniffed and looked away. "Actually, I have to go see Dewpaw now."

"I'll see you-" she limped out of the den. "-later?"

"Don't take it too hard." Foxleap whirled around to come face to face with Snowpaw, Dewpaw's brother.. "She'll get over it eventually if you try hard enough. One time Amberpaw accidentally made her nest with rabbit droppings in it and Cherrypaw didn't talk to her for almost a full moon until Amberpaw stood up for her against some cocky ShadowClan apprentice."

"She's has a bit of a temper, doesn't she?" Foxleap snorted when he remembered the time he challenged her to a race and of course, he won. She barely said a word to him for the rest of the day.

"It's actually funny, isn't it?" Snowpaw sniggered. "She's angry at me too because I told Dewpaw and Amberpaw that she has a crush on Purdy. It was a joke but she... she was not very happy about it."

"Purdy?" Foxleap laughed as he pictured the apprentice and Purdy curled up together. "When was this?"

"The day after you messed up her leg," Snowpaw answered nonchalantly. "She yelled at me and told me she never wanted to talk to me again."

Foxleap chuckled quietly until an idea hit him. "I have a challenge for you," he grinned.

"I've heard about these. Ivypool always tells me about how you take everything as a challenge and bet others to race and stuff like that. What is it this time? A hunting contest?" Snowpaw guessed and Foxleap shook his head. "Fighting? Racing?"

"A Cherrypaw contest. Whoever can make Cherrypaw forgive them first, wins." Snowpaw cocked his head at the thought but let a slow grin cross his face.

"Deal. You know, when I heard about all your little 'challenges' I thought they'd be more physical. But I like this one; it ends up great for all of us," Snowpaw purred, bouncing on his feet a little. He glanced out the den to see the sky was already starting to darken and cats would start to their nests. "It's getting late. Tomorrow, the challenge will really start. But neither of us can talk to her at all tonight, okay?"

"Sounds fair," Foxleap nodded. "I should probably let you go to sleep though. Everyone will wonder why I've been in the apprentice den this whole time anyway."

"May the best cat win," Snowpaw sniggered as the reddish brown tom began to leave.

"And we both know that's going to be me!" Foxleap called just as he left the den, brushing past Lilypaw on the way out. Knowing full-well that he wouldn't be sleeping that night, he padded to the warriors den so he could pretend to sleep. Glancing in, he could see Whitewing and Birchfall already curled up together, whispering sweet things in each others ears, Toadstep sleeping alone in the nest that he made with Ivypool, and Thornclaw fast asleep at the back of the den.

When Foxleap entered, everyone turned to stare at him. Toadstep was the one to speak, "Did you really say all those things to Owlclaw?"

"Uh, yeah," Foxleap muttered, ducking his head. Disappointment shone in Birchfall's eyes as he shook his head.

"You should have known better, Foxleap. And to think I was finally starting to think you'd changed."

Foxleap flinched slightly but tried not to take it too seriously. He knew this would come when he lied to Bramblestar and at least Mousewhisker, Icecloud and he knew the truth. Even though it sucked, maybe it was enough.

Foxleap settled down in his nest and buried his face in his paws so his Clanmates couldn't see his open eyes. He feared that if even opened for a second, he would risk falling asleep and missing his meeting with Swallowtail. He couldn't do that! It was literally the only good part left in his day... and it might make him lose the challenge. Obviously the challenge was most important.

Once everyone was in their nests did Foxleap finally make his move. He stretched out before standing up and padding out of the den. The only cat to notice was Rosepeatl who yawned tiredly and blinked a few times. "Where are you going?" she slurred.

"Dirtplace," Foxleap lied easily. "I won't be long."

"Mmm sure," Rosepetal hummed before she slumped to the ground again, falling asleep in a matter of moments. But Foxleap was already out of ThunderClan by then. He ran through the forest, leaping easily over fallen logs and dodging bramble thickets. It seemed like one second he was in ThunderClan and the next he was emerging into the meeting place where he always met Swallowtail.

This time, she wasn't there to meet him first though so Foxleap settled down to wait for her. A few drops of rain started to fall on him and he internally cursed, hoping it didn't start pouring. But if it did, at least WindClan wouldn't notice the constant smell of ThunderClan in that one particular spot.

It didn't take long for Swallowtail to appear, her fur a few shades darker than usual because of the rain. She looked slightly annoyed at the weather but still glad to see Foxleap. "Sorry, I got held up in camp. Leaftail wanted to see if he wanted to come on a late night walk with me." She rolled her eyes as she settled down next to the ThunderClan tom, pressing her pelt into his. "Anyway, how was your day?"

"Awful. Mousewhisker got in a fight with ShadowClan and to keep him from spilling our secret, I took part of the blame. Now I'm stuck in ThunderClan for the next few days, taking care of Cherrypaw."

Swallowtail's eyes filled with sympathy. "I'm sorry that happened to you. Has Cherrypaw forgiven you yet?"

"No," Foxleap grumbled and Swallowtail's face hardened.

"Wait, have you even apologized yet?" she asked, pulling slightly away from Foxleap. When the tom didn't answer, she pulled herself fully away. "Foxleap! What is wrong with you?"

"What?" Foxleap tried defending himself. "It's not even my fault she got hurt. If she just rolled off properly then-"

"It doesn't matter whose fault it is!" Swallowtail snapped. "If she blames you, then you should apologize whether you fully believe it's your fault at all. She's a young cat and she thinks you crippled her chances of becoming a warrior. Wouldn't you _at least_ want an apology for that?"

"I guess..." Foxleap mumbled, ducking his head.

Swallowtail sighed and shook her head. "Whatever, let's just talk about something else. I'm not in the mood to fight with you."

"Want to stargaze?" Foxleap perked up, remembering the first time they watched the stars together. They did it a few times together and he always considered it a tradition meant only for him and the WindClan she-cat. She leaned back into him so they were in the same position as before.

Swallowtail made a face. "Foxleap, it's raining out. The stars are covered by clouds."

Foxleap glanced up to see that the only stars he could see were hanging over the other side of the lake and if they were to try, they'd just be staring at dark clouds. "Oh. Right."

The two fell into a comfortable silence as Foxleap thought. Swallowtail was leaning comfortably into him, her head resting against his shoulder and his tail wrapped around her body. When he thought about it, he had seen some of the most romantic couples in the same position like his parents and Berrynose with Honeyfern when they were together.

But Foxleap and Swallowtail weren't mates... right?

"Hey Swallowtail?" Foxleap asked, bringing the she-cat out of her thoughts.

"Hm?"

"What are we?" Foxleap asked nervously, scared for her reaction.

"Uh, cats?" she said, shooting him a weird look. Foxleap couldn't help but roll his eyes and sigh.

"I meant what are _we_ as in you and I? Together. We meet here every night and we stargaze and cuddle but we aren't mates... so what are we then?" When Swallowtail finally realized what he was trying to say, she froze up and shifted away.

After a long moment of silence, she finally spoke. "You know, I should actually get back to camp before someone notices I'm missing."

"Swallowtail, we have to-" She cut him off.

"No we don't. I have to go now, Foxleap." she pulled herself to her feet, running to her side of the border. But her mind was too preoccupied to think about leaping over the stream and instead, she just tried running through.

Swallowtail's foot hit a particularly slippery rock and not a heartbeat later, her legs went out from under her. With a short shriek, she splashed into the water, her head hitting a rock and knocking her out. Foxleap was by her in a second, dragging her out of the water and laying her on the ground. "Swallowtail? Are you okay?"

Foxleap pressed his ear to her chest and listened closely. Over the sound of the rain hitting the ground, he could hear her heartbeat. Her chest was rising and falling as well so at least she was alive.

But she was still out cold. And with the increasing rainfall, he couldn't just stay out there with her until she woke up. And he _especially_ couldn't leave her there! She needed to get back to WindClan but the only way of getting her back was by carrying her. Through the rain. Alone.

Foxleap searched his mind for any other option but came up blank. He had to help her back to WindClan.

"Foxdung," he cursed under his breath as he grabbed her scruff with his mouth and heaved her up. She wasn't overly heavy but she also wasn't light either; with seasons of muscle under her fur and the rain weighing her down, he knew that it wouldn't be an easy task in dragging her home. And worst of all; what would a WindClan cat think if they caught him dragging her limp body away?

The rain was picking up with every passing moment and her body was only getting heavier and heavier to drag. But once he was about halfway into WindClan territory, she woke up - for a few heartbeats at least.

"Foxleap?" she mumbled, staggering to her feet and managing to take a few steps before collapsing again. And then she was out again.

"Next time, wake up for good, okay?" Foxleap grumbled as he pulled her up again. At least while she _was_ awake, she managed a few paces so it was just less work for him.

As they continued through the fields, her moments of consciousness happened a few more times. She would wake up, disoriented and stumbling, but before Foxleap could explain to her what happened, she was out again. By then, Foxleap was soaked to the bone and all he could hear was the pounding of rain and a few cracks of lightening across the sky.

Foxleap could see the WindClan camp getting closer to closer and with each step, he felt fear rising in his chest. What if they caught him? There's no way they would believe it was just another coincidence of them being at the border at the same time; not at this time of night.

"Foxleap... what's going on?" Swallowtail slurred as she came out of unconsciousness again. She crumbled to the ground but managed to stay awake.

"You hit your head and I carried you back to WindClan. It's right over there, do you think you can make it?" Foxleap asked cautiously and she nodded. He eyed her suspiciously as he slowly turned to leave. He planned on watching from afar to make sure she made it back to camp when she called his name again.

"Foxleap, what are we?" she asked and Foxleap's eyes widened.

"Swallowtail, this isn't the time to talk about this," he pleaded. She had to get back to camp!

"Sure it is," she purred, a smile falling on her face. Her words were slurred and she was clearly disoriented. In fact, she probably wouldn't even remember this in the morning.

"Ugh, fine, what do you want us to be?" he rushed. He figured that if her got this conversation over with then maybe she'd finally pull herself off the ground and drag herself back to camp.

She was confused and still dizzy from hitting her head. Her words were slurred and the storm made it even harder to hear her but he made the words out perfectly.

"I'll be anything you want me to be."

And with that, she pulled herself up and stumbled back to camp. Foxleap could only stare at her in shock as she tumbled into WindClan camp and a cat - it could have been Leaftail be they were too far away to be sure - raced up to her and helped her walk. He stared at the spot where she disappeared a few long moments after she had gone before the words finally registered in his mind.

_I'll be anything you want me to be._

Like his mate?

Foxleap started to back away before he finally turned and sprinted. His muscles were aching, the rain was weighing him down, but somehow, he felt like he was weightless.

Until he reached ThunderClan camp, that is. He snuck past Lionblaze and Ivypool who were on guard and into the den. He meant to go straight to his nest where he could collapse and sleep for the next moon, but there was already a dark cream coloured she-cat waiting for him; Rosepetal.

Her eyes were dark and she looked Foxleap's drenched body up and down once before snarling, "Dirtplace, huh?"

"...yes?" Foxleap replied weakly. He prayed that she would be too tired to think clearly.

"Interesting," she sat back. For a brief moment, Foxleap thought he luck had been on his side and he tricked Rosepetal but all hope was crushed when she said, "I never knew it took half the night to make dirt and you ended up reeking of WindClan after. But maybe that's just me."

Foxleap felt all the air rush out of his lungs as he stared at the furious she-cat. He was busted.

* * *

**So I've mentioned multiple times that I'm writing a book series after this is done but that's not going to be everything I'm writing! I'm planning on writing a Thornclaw/Blossomfall fic that's similar to this one :) Thornclaw finally decides that it's time to find a mate and with the help of his best friend, Blossomfall, sets out to find a she-cat to love. But what he doesn't realize is that there's already a she-cat who's in love with him; Blossomfall. **

** I'm not sure if I want to continue it but I figured I'd let some of you decide. First ten reviewers get a sneak peak of the first chapter.**

**I'M HAVING ANOTHER CHALLENGE! Okay, so I was looking through the archive and I noticed how many unappreciated characters there are. Some characters don't have any stories about them while there are over 700 stories about OC's. And those are the ones that are labeled. So to try and help those underappreciated cats, I'm having a writing contest. **

**You have to write a three chapter (or more) fic featuring a character that has ten or less fics about them. There have to be at least 3000 words to qualify for winning. The prizes:**

**-First Place: A six chapter fic dedicated to you about any character you choose, a link to your account in my profile and I'll review each of your fics at least once. Added to Favorite auhors list.**

**-Second Place: I'll review half of your fics at least once, a shoutout at in the authors note of an upcoming chapter and added to favorite authors list.**

**If you have any questions, leave it in a review. And just to help, here are a list of warriors that you can write about: Webfoot, Swallowtail, pretty much any SkyClan cat, Toadstep, Sunstrike, Sootfur, Scorchfur, Minnowtail (She's also not on the characters list but I'm going to email FFN and see if she can get added) **

**Kit of the Day**

**Ravenkit by FrostFall37**

**Question of the Day**

**Are you doing NaNoWriMo this year?**


	14. Chapter 14

**Reviews**

**hollyleaf1122 - I'm glad you want to join! More info on the bottom of the chapter :) There's no forum, just PM me when it's posted and I'll check it out!**

**Embersky - I know they're so adorable! And thank you, if I do write it, it will probably be in December :) There's more info on the bottom of the chapter about the challenge!**

**Anonymous - thanks for the submission but as stated before, guests can't submit kits because I need to stay in touch with them, sorry.**

**tr1xx777 - Thanks, I am! It's going pretty well actually :) Gah that means so much, honestly! Like when I adopted this all I wanted to do was attempt to make this into a somewhat readable fic and the fact that you and so many other people like this makes me really happy :)**

**Birdflame - Lol I love how that's the one thing you take out of the whole chapter XD**

**Ravenwing - Aw, well as an author that's really flattering that my writing did that but as a human being, all I can say is, I'M SORRY!**

**Guest - I know, it's about damn time!**

**Snowfeather - I actually know which one you're talking about... probably XD Like, I know this isn't just a random crackship, it's because one time at a gathering, they were being all cute together and stuff so that's where it came from. I was browsing through some forums and I saw some people talking about MinnowXMouse and I thought it'd be kinda cute to add them in. And yes, that's correct :) It has to be about them. **

**QLKwriter - Yeah, he's definitely changing and Rosepetal is seeing the good in him again :) That's shown a little in this chapter too!**

**Stream that Flows Around Rock - Yeah, he isn't going to change like right away so I made him a little cocky on purpose :) And I like writing that part! I didn't want for them to fight for so long!**

**Aeran - I honestly don't know what to say in this reply since we've already talked so much XD Uh, hi I guess? It's nice to have met you!**

**Juliet's Shadow - More info at the bottom of the chapter if you're still interested! And thanks :)**

**Answer of the Day**

**Yes, I'm doing NaNo! For all those who don't know, NaNo is National Novel Writing Month. It's where you try to write 50, 000 words in a month. It's actually really hard because if you think about it, excluding this chapter, I haven't even reached 50k O.o There was a 14% success rate last year...**

* * *

Chapter Fourteen

"Rosepetal, it's not what it looks like," Foxleap tried. He didn't know how much she saw - if she even saw anything - and he could at least _try _to deny it. Maybe she only smelt the WindClan on him?

_"Isn't it?"_ Roseptetal sneered. "I waited up all night for you and when you come back, you're drenched and reek of WindClan. So who is it then? Heathertail? Furzepelt?"

_'Heathertail and Furzepelt? If Rosepetal saw us, she would have known who it was. Heathertail and Furzepelt look nothing like Swallowtail_!' Foxleap realized. He could still lie his way out of this.

"Rosepetal, just let me explain," Foxleap hissed quietly. He was hoping that no one woke up from their conversation but he could see a few cats stirring. They would have to be quieter. "Look, I knew this would be my last chance out of camp for the next few days with my punishment and all. I saw that everyone was asleep and I just took it. I went for a walk when it started to rain and I was about to turn back."

"So instead of turning back, you decided to meet up with a WindClan cat, is that it?" Rosepetal snorted, narrowing her eyes. "I should tell Bramblestar about this."

"Just listen," Foxleap pleaded. "I saw something in the river between us and WindClan. It was a WindClan cat and they must have fallen and hit their head. I couldn't just leave them there or they would die! So I dragged them near WindClan so someone could find them."

Rosepetal stared at the tom for a few moments, looking him up and down before sighing. "I believe you. I think you did the right thing by helping them back, but next time, don't lie to me about where you're going. I'm your friend, Foxleap. I could have come with you."

"I'll keep that in mind," Foxleap nodded. "But if you don't mind, I really need to sleep. Dragging cats around all night was kind of exhausting and I have a sassy apprentice to follow around all day."

Rosepetal sniggered. "Well you brought that on yourself but I _suppose _I can let you get some rest. Goodnight Foxleap."

"G'night," Foxleap slurred, stepping over some sleeping bodies as he made his way back to his nest. He plopped down on the moss and let out a sigh of relief; his bones had been aching for this moment all night.

It didn't take long for him to drift off to sleep but as he did, something in the back of his mind was nagging him. It was itching to be figured out and finally, just as Foxleap was about to give up and try to forget it, Rosepetal's words came back to him.

_I'm your friend, Foxleap._

Friend.

This entire challenge had been meant for a she-cat to genuinely like Foxleap's personality and Rosepetal had just admitted that she enjoyed his personality. Foxleap had won the challenge. He could tell Spiderleg in the morning and win the challenge, winning full bragging rights and another title to add to the list of things he's best at. He could just cash in his win and never have to try to impress anyone again.

But maybe... maybe he didn't want to win. Because if he won, that meant he wouldn't get to meet up with Swallowtail anymore. And he definitely didn't want that.

* * *

"Are you ready?" Foxleap asked and the tom nodded.

"Set?" Another nod.

"Go!" Foxleap screamed and he and Snowpaw leapt to their feet bolting towards their target on the far side of camp; the fresh-kill pile. Since Foxleap had longer legs and was just faster overall, he beat the apprentice to the pile, snatching a plump vole off the top and bolting to where a fluffy ginger she-cat was sunning herself. "Cherrypaw!"

Cherrypaw sat up with wide eyes, her jaw dropped and the fur along the back of her neck bristling. She unsheathed her claws and prepared to defeat some Dark Forest scum.

"I brought you a vole," Foxleap grinned and dropped the vole at her paws just as Snowpaw arrived. He was carrying a squirrel.

"Why don't you have my squirrel instead?" Snowpaw offered and nudged the prey closer to her. Foxleap shot the tom a nasty glare before nudging his vole a little closer. Snowpaw did the same and within heartbeats, the two toms were having a stare off while flinging pieces of prey at Cherrypaw who could only watch with a baffled expression on her face.

"Stop!" she suddenly yelled and the two froze, just as Snowpaw's squirrel flew up and hit her on the face. Snowpaw shot her an apologetic smile but her expression remained the same: unamused. "I don't know what's gotten into you two but you're acting like kits. Grow up!"

And then she stomped away. Well, she tried at least but it looked a little silly when she could only use three of her paws.

"Well that went well," Foxleap muttered. "So who won then?"

"I... I don't think either of us did," Snowpaw said, cocking his head to the side. "Maybe throwing my squirrel at her face wasn't the best idea..."

"Yeah, I don't think so either," Foxleap agreed. He sat up straight at turned to the white apprentice. "But the challenge is not over yet - not by a longshot. It's anyone's game."

"Then you better stop making speeches and start playing because it doesn't look like either of us are close to winning," Snowpaw pointed out and Foxleap turned to see Cherrypaw ranting to Amberpaw. The she-cat's both looked annoyed and they shot Foxleap and Snowpaw nasty looks. "Listen, I need to go out hunting so I guess good luck with Cherrypaw. StarClan knows you'll need it."

Foxleap shot him a look as he chuckled and then padded away to go find his mentor.

The reddish brown tom turned away and set his sights on someone who had always been there when he needed advice, or at least someone to bluntly tell him what he did wrong; Hazeltail. He would have gone to Swallowtail because she usually gave pretty good advice but since that was out of the question, Hazeltail was the next best thing.

Foxleap trotted up to the small gray-and-white she-cat who was chewing on a raven. She didn't look very happy with it though because her nose was wrinkled in disgust. "It's stringy and cold..." she muttered and pulled another face. She was picky about her meals.

"Wow, that's too bad. I need advice," Foxleap said ever-so-tactfully. He plopped down in front of the cat and stared expectantly at her, swishing his tail back and forth. It was like he expected her to instantly know what was wrong with him.

"Yeah, I agree, you do have a lot of problems," Hazeltail smirked, taking another bite of her prey. The second it touched her tongue, she gagged and a shiver crossed her spine as she swallowed it. "Nope, I can't do it. Just eat it for me."

"Sure, why not?" Foxleap shrugged and took a big bite of the bird. It was a little stiff and stringy like she had said but it wasn't nearly as bad as she made it out to be. "Okay, so here's my problem: Cherrypaw hates me."

Hazelatil looked at him like he was an idiot. "Well, yeah, you got her stuck in camp for a moon and almost destroyed her chances of ever being a warrior. I'd hate you too."

"It wasn't my fault!" he whined out.

"Yes it is!" Hazeltail yelled. A few cats looked over to see what all the commotion was about but when they saw Foxleap, they went back to their normal conversation. Foxleap was always making someone angry, it was no surprise now. "The sooner you accept that, the sooner she'll forgive you!"

Hazeltail stomped away, leaving Foxleap alone with his raven. He sighed and took another bite of the bird but suddenly, it tasted like dirt and he could barely manage to swallow it. Taking it to the Dirtplace, he dug a little hole for it and dropped the raven is, pushing the dirt over it again and walking back into camp. When he entered camp, he instantly spotted Cherrypaw sitting alone.

Her face was dropped and her chin was resting on her paws, looking sullen. Foxleap watched as she lifted her head so she could tenderly lick her front paw. She clambered to her feet and softly started pressing her paw on the ground but once she put too much pressure on it, she whimpered and pulled away, plopping back down on the ground again and looking even more miserable than before.

No wonder she hate Foxleap for that... he would hate himself too.

_If she blames you, then you should apologize whether you fully believe it's your fault or not._

Swallowtail's words rang in Foxleap's ears as he watched the ginger she-cat. Sure, he still didn't believe Cherrypaw's accident was his fault but she did, so didn't he deserve to take a little bit of the blame? He did for Mousewhisker so why couldn't he do the same for his own apprentice?

Foxleap tentatively padded up to Cherrypaw and when she looked up, a scowl fell on her face. "Why do you keep trying to talk to me? Haven't you done enough?"

"Can you just listen to me?" Foxleap pleaded and Cherrypaw sighed, slowly nodding. She was still his apprentice and still had to do what he said. "Okay, look, I know you don't want to I'll try to make this short. I understand why you hate me, I do, and until lately, I didn't really get it. I didn't take the blame for something that was clearly my fault and I thought you'd eventually get over it if I tried being nice enough. But then I realized something else."

"What?" Cherrypaw asked. Her tone was softer and it was obvious that she was starting to forgive her mentor. He just needed to say those two words that he rarely said to anyone.

"I haven't apologized to you yet. So Cherrypaw, I'm sorry for hurting you. Do you forgive me?" Foxleap asked and waited expectantly for his apprentice to answer.

Finally, she nodded. "Thank you for apologizing, Foxleap. I forgive you."

Foxleap let out a breath of air that he hadn't realized he had been holding in. It felt like a mountain had been lifted off his breath and he couldn't have been more relieved that Cherrypaw didn't despise him anymore. Now, if he could only get the rest of his Clanmates to do the same... but that might take some more work after everyone heard about his 'spat' with Owlclaw.

Speaking of which, Mousewhisker exited the elders den, a stick covered in mousebile in his jaws. When he saw Foxleap looking, he nodded at him. His eyes didn't seem as heavy as they had for the past few days, even though he did look a little distressed. He was slowly starting to heal though; he realized after Foxleap took part of the blame for his mistake that he wasn't alone.

Minnowtail might not love him anymore, but that didn't mean that he was completely alone. He had his Clanmates who loved him and maybe that was enough.

"Hey Foxleap?" The reddish-brown tom turned back to his apprentice to see her looking thoughtful. "Uh, I just wanted to say that you've changed. In a good way, of course, but I was just wondering what changed?"

"I guess I grew up," Foxleap shrugged. '_With the help of a certain WindCLan cat.'_

"Well, I like the change," Cherrypaw nodded. "It makes you much more respectable."

Foxleap frowned slightly. Respectable? How could they not have respected him before? He constantly reminded them of how much there was about him to respect! How could they forget?

"Anyway, I have to go check in with Jayfeather so I'll see you later then," Cherrypaw dipped her head.

"Alright, I'll see you," Foxleap bid his farewell and watched the ginger she-cat hop away.

For the rest of the day, nothing really happened. He brought Cherrypaw her some food a few times and they talked a bit. He demonstrated a few battle moves that they would practice once she was able to walk on her foot and she said she was studying with the other apprentices about what she needed to do to improve her stances.

The only real surprise came when Snowpaw came back to camp. The tom dropped his prey in the pile before approaching Cherrypaw and greeting her as if nothing had happened. They talked for a bit while Foxleap watched on, completely baffled. The tom had been out of camp the whole day! How did he manage to get Cherrypaw to forgive him?

Once Cherrypaw left to go do whatever she did, Foxleap walked straight up to Snowpaw and demanded the answers. "How did she forgive you? You haven't talked to her all day!"

"Hm?" Snowpaw glanced up and then realization flashed in his minds. "Oh that! Yeah, she was never really angry at me."

"What?" Foxleap cocked his head, looking confused. What was Snowpaw talking about?

"Cherrypaw wasn't even angry at me. I just made that part up, figuring you'd take it as some sort of challenge and just apologize to her already," Snowpaw explained. "All I had to do was tell her the squirrel thing was an accident and we're fine again."

"Y-you..." Foxleap could only stare at him in shock. Snowpaw had... _tricked_ him?

"Someone had to take matters into their own paws. You were making Cherrpaw miserable and I had to do something. Sorry about that." And with that, Snowpaw bounded off, probably to go talk with Cherrypaw.

Foxleap had been beaten at his own game. By an _apprentice_.

Other than that small event of humiliation, nothing happened. A few more patrols came back and some more went out but there wasn't a lot for Foxleap to do other than visit and sleep. But at least it gave him plenty of energy for him to stay up to meet with Swallowtail.

Foxleap stayed in shock for nearly the entire day. He could barely answer Birchfall's questions because he was too busy thinking about the mischievous white tom. As he thought it over, he realized he had never actually seen Cherrypaw say anything to Snowpaw that would make anyone think she was angry at him. They never fought and the only time she glared at him was after he flung a squirrel at her - and he probably did that on purpose too.

Foxleap was still in shock as he snuck out of camp, running through the forest to go meet up with Swallowtail. He easily snuck past Poppyfrost and Toadstep since they were both literally falling asleep on their paws. Once he was past them, the rest of the trip went flawlessly with him only tripping over a root once.

He sat in his regular spot in the shadows as he waited for her. He waited there, thinking the day over before finally deciding that it was a successful day. Even if he got tricked by Snowpaw, he still worked things out with Cherrypaw and he didn't upset anyone else.

Foxleap tuned back in to reality and realized something that had never happened before: Swallowtail hadn't showed up. Foxleap looked up to the moon to see if he was just exaggerating how long he had been waiting. He had left when the moon was just starting to rise and it was well in the sky now.

_'She probably just had trouble getting out of camp... I can wait a little longer,_' Foxleap thought as he settled down. _'It's no big deal_.'

But as he waited, his hope slowly started to diminish. He waited until eyelids felt like rocks and the moon was starting to set. He waited the entire night for Swallowtail to show up, only she never did. Was she hurt? Was she confined to camp because of her head injury from the night before? Or maybe it was as simple as she had fallen asleep... yeah, that was probably it.

Foxleap was always exhausted whenever night came so Swallowtail probably just thought she'd close her eyes for a bit and she lost track of time. But even as Foxleap thought it, he couldn't help but think of another option:

She had stood him up.

**Tad bit of drama there! Okay so a bit more on the challenge:**

**The point of the challenge is to write a 3 chapter fic (or more, but it has to be at LEAST three chapters, all about the same character). The character has to have 10 or less stories about them. 3000 words by the time it's complete (Authors Notes don't count). I've had a lot of questions about the deadline and I finally came up with a deadline... December 25th. If there are a bunch of people who aren't done by then then I can postpone it a bit but I'm not going to hold up for one person.**

**Any more questions? Leave 'em in a review!**

**Kit of the Day**

**Spiderkit by Stunna13**

**Question of the Day**

**Which cat from the warriors series would you save from death?**


	15. Chapter 15

**... I want to thank you all for the ridiculous amount of reviews in the last chapter, but it's still registering in my mind that I actually got 34 reviews in one update. I think it's best if we all just give me a few thousand words worth of content to let if sink in and then I can thank you all. But for now:**

**Reviews**

**Embersky - Yeah I crammed a lot in that chapter, didn't I? And I'm glad Cherrypaw did too :) It would suck having an apprentice who hates you and him apologizing just proves how much Foxleap has actually changed!**

**Silverwillow - holy, that's a lot of reviews! Thank you and I'll reply from the first one on chapter one to the most recent :) Thanks for reading this so much and I like Jay too! He's probably my favorite of the last 2 series! I looove it when someone writes about the underdogs. There are so many characters you can work with but people tend to write about either OC's or MC's. I think it's kind of ironic that in BS, it's the whole Ash/Squirrel/Bramble thing but instead of Ash, it's Jessy. And I'll try and add more Ice and Jay for you! Ahh I love writing the Ivy/Toad/Ice triangle :) I haven't put a lot in lately but it's fun. I've read Promise! I really like that one actually :D I usually don't like stories where everyone hates a kit but there are a few that get me. WE'RE CANADA BUDDIES! What province are you from? And I'm doing NaNo. It's really hard but I think I'm doing okay :) And I agree but Jay wouldn't be the same if he wasn't blind so in a way, I wouldn't save him for that one but I love him toooo!**

**Khjaro - I know! They killed off my favorite characters and I was so angry when I heard about it! I don't get why they don't kill of main's as much as they do underdogs. If Ivy or Dove died, I think it would have been more dramatic and they could have saved a few cats. I like minor character's better too. I don't know why but they're just so unexplored and so much you could add to them. **

**TheFanfictionMaster: But Brigheart's not dead? **

**rainpool777 - thanks!**

**poopadoop - nice username XD HAHAHAHA this review made me laugh so hard, you have no idea!**

**Pale Eye and Guest - Sorry, guests can't submit kits. The reason has been explained multiple times in previous chapters.**

**Swiftstar - A lot of people would have saved her! I like Fallen Leaves a lot too :) **

**Wood Cats - It is! But this chapter goes a little deeper on that :) **

**FrostFall37 - I know I loved Honeyfern! One of the saddest deaths, no doubt! She didn't even have to die, like she could have lived and they'd still need a reason for the berries.**

**Juliet's Shadow - Thank you! PM me the link when it's published because I'm SUPER excited to read it :D And I loved Mosskit but at least 2/3 lived right?**

**Lazy Watermelon - Nope, she's alive! And I liked Feathertail too but I liked the way she died. She really linked the Clans and the Tribe and I really like that, even if I don't really like reading about the Tribe.**

**Guest (3) - Uh, what?**

**Birdflame - Yeah, he wasn't lying, he just wasn't telling the truth either! And I wish any one of Crookedstar's family would have lived :'(**

**Winxclubfan1 - She's not dead though?**

**Stream that Flows Around Rock - Getting stood up means if 2 people were to make a date, one wouldn't show up and wouldn't try to contact the other to let them know they weren't coming. I liked Redtail and Mosskit! I definitely would have liked to see more of them :)**

**QLKwriter - I liked Tallstar too :) He was a good leader! And we'll see about that in this chapter!**

**hollyleaf1122 - Okay, so I checked it out and sorry, but Echosong isn't eligible :/ There are nearly 20 stories about her and even though some are OC's, there's still too many about her. I'm sorry but that's the rules and I can't really make exceptions after I've already set them in place :( There are hundreds of warriors though! You'll find one to write about :D**

**Anova00 - A lot of people have said that! She's really liked, I guess :) **

**Answer of the Day**

**Definitely one of the minor characters like Rainwhisker, Sootfur, or basically everyone who died between TLH and BStorm**

* * *

Chapter Fifteen

Three days had passed and Foxleap still hadn't gotten word from Swallowtail. By then, he wasn't only worrying if she was avoiding him for some reason, but he was genuinely worried for her safety. What if she had hit her head so hard that something happened? What if she... died?

So in those three days, Foxleap hadn't slept, he barely ate, and he hardly talked to anyone. Every night, he would pretend to fall asleep and wait until everyone else was motionless, and then he would get up and sneak out to the WindClan border to wait for Swallowtail - but she never came. When he came back in the morning, more worry was weighing on his chest and even though he tried eating, he couldn't force it down.

The only good thing that had come out of those three days was him being allowed to leave camp again.

"Foxleap!" The reddish brown glanced up to see Birchfall, Hazeltail, and Berrynose staring worriedly down at him. Well, Berrynose just looked a little annoyed but the other two looked worried. "We've been calling you for a while now... Squirrelflight put us on border patrol. But are you sure you're up for it? You kind of look a little..."

"A disaster? Fox-dung? Dead?" Berrynose filled in the blanks and everyone shot him a glare. Foxleap's was a little half-hearted though because he barely had enough energy to move, let alone actually be angry at someone.

"We just wanted to know if you were well enough for it," Hazeltsil said softly. "You haven't been yourself for the past few days."

"No, it's fine, I'll come," Foxleap sighed, pulling himself to his feet. He still had warrior duties to do and maybe they would keep his mind off of _her_. "Is it just us then?"

"Yeah, just us," Birchfall answered, still eyeing his brother up.

"Let's go then," Foxleap muttered. Even if border patrol was a good distraction, he was still exhausted and all he wanted to do was collapse.

The patrol padded out of camp in silence. Birchfall was too busy watching his brother to pay attention to the brambles and he ran right into the exit, getting brambles and thorns in his fur while everyone else ducked under them. Foxleap sniggered but it only lasted for a moment until he remembered Swallowtail. Berrynose laughed loud and obnoxiously until he made the same mistake.

"Fox-dung!" Berrynose hissed and tried shaking the brambles out of his fur. He had double the amount that Birchfall did and his went in a lot deeper. "You go ahead and if I get these out of my fur then I'll come finish the patrol!"

Foxleap had no problem with that. None at all.

The patrol continued in silence with the only noise being Birchfall cursing under his breath every so often as he tried to pull out brambles and walk at the same time. One time, he tripped over a root and Hazeltail turned around to see him laying on the ground with a thorn right in the middle of his face. The small she-cat only snorted and kept on walking.

The cat's reached the WindClan border at the same time as another patrol did. Foxleap scanned the crowd to see if he could find a pair of shining green eyes but all he saw was Emberfoot, Gorsetail, and Furzepelt. When Foxleap saw the tom, his ears perked. He hadn't seen Emberfoot since the badger attack!

"Foxleap!" Emberfoot broke out into a grin. When he saw the state of the ThunderClan warrior, his smile fell off. "For StarClan's sake, have you been attacked by another badger? You look half-dead!"

"Thanks," Foxleap replied sarcastically. "But I'm fine; I just haven't been sleeping well is all. How is everyone in WindClan? Are Larkwing and Crouchfoot enjoying being warriors? How's Sedgewhisker?"

Emberfoot smiled softy again, but this time with a hint of sadness. "Larkwing and Crouchfoot are fine, if a bit annoying to sleep around. And Sedgewhisker is... she's getting better. She... lost the kits."

"I'm sorry to hear that," Foxleap meowed solemnly. Even though it was no surprise, he was still quite fond of Sedgewhisker and Emberfoot and didn't like seeing them in pain.

"But Slightkit, Hootkit, Oatkit, and Featherkit haven't stopped talking about you," Emberfoot purred. "Featherkit decided already that you're going to be her mate and Slightkit wants his warrior name to be Slightfox."

Foxleap chuckled and the two other cats on his patrol shared a glance. Foxleap had been in WindClan for a total of three days, so why would they idolize him so much? They shrugged it off and continued to listen in on the conversation. "And how's Swallowtail doing?" he asked casually.

"Ah I was wondering when you would ask about her," Emberfoot chuckled. "You're mate is doing pretty good-"

"Mate?" Hazeltail interrupted and Foxleap whipped around with wide eyes.

"Not like that! Emberfoot is just joking because we were friends when I was in WindClan. That's all," Foxleap explained before turning back to the WindClan tom. "What were you saying?"

"It was the weirdest thing," Emberfoot started. "The other day, Swallowtail went out for a midnight walk like she always does but she didn't come back for a long time. We were starting to get worried because it was storming out when she stumbled into camp. She had hurt herself and somehow managed to carry herself back to camp."

"Is she okay?" Birchfall gaped. Foxleap vaguely knew that Birchfall and Swallowtail had met at a Gathering and had become decent friends. Obviously not as good as with Foxleap but he had reason to be worried.

"She's fine." Cue sigh of relief from the brothers. "But the strange thing is that she was only able to stay awake for a few moments until she passed out again and was going in and out of consciousness for the rest of the night."

_'Trust me, I know_,' Foxleap thought bitterly as he remembered having to drag the she-cat back to WindClan camp.

"Kestrelflight says there's no possible way she would have gotten back to camp until at least the morning by the way she kept passing out. He says the only possibility is that someone helped her..." No, no, no, this isn't good! "But the thing is, the rain washed away all scents. Heathertail claims she got a whiff of ThunderClan but no one else could scent it..."

"That is strange," Foxleap muttered. "So you think someone from ThunderClan helped her then?"

"Could be." Emberfoot shrugged. "Swallowtail says she doesn't remember much and Onestar thinks we would have heard something from you if ThunderClan really did help her back."

"We haven't heard anything about this," Hazeltail piped up. "If someone did help her then they didn't tell anyone about it."

"Hm," Emberfoot hummed. "I don't know, WindClan is stumped. But if you do find out who helped her, send them our thanks. WindClan is very appreciative; especially Sedgewhisker."

"Of course," Foxleap agreed, nodding at the tom. "Tell Swallowtail that I hope she's okay."

_'Please tell her_!'

"Will do. But we should probably finish our border patrol," Emberfoot mewed, glancing quickly at the sky. Foxleap hadn't even realized how long they'd been talking until Emberfoot said it. "I'll see you at the next Gathering then."

The two toms dipped their heads respectfully and turned away. Just as Emberfoot was padding away, Foxleap called, "Don't hit your head on any rocks on the way back!"

"I'll try!" Emberfoot called back with a snort. The ThunderClan patrol disappeared in their forest as WindClan started their trek back to camp. Emberfoot barely made it a few steps before a thought hit him so hard it felt like he had walked into a tree. Foxleap's last few words rang in his head.

_Don't hit your head on any rocks on the way back._

It was a clear reference to Swallowtail's injury but Emberfoot hadn't actually thought about the words deep enough until Foxleap had disappeared. Maybe Foxleap had just assumed Swallowtail's injury had been a blow to the head but Emberfoot swore he never mentioned _how _Swallowtail had hurt herself. Especially nothing so specific as 'on a rock.'

So why did Foxleap know this little detail then? Was he the one who helped Swallowtail back to camp? And if he was, there was an even bigger question that needed answers for... why was he at the WindClan border in the middle of the night?

* * *

Foxleap sighed as he settled down again for the night. The rest of the day had been like any other; he did his duties, managed to swallow a morsel of food and then went to his nest to wait for everyone to fall asleep. He wasn't expecting to see Swallowtail; especially after Emberfoot told him that she was okay? That could only mean that she somehow got held back in camp for the past few nights or she was avoiding him.

And he desperately wished it wasn't the second option.

So once everyone was asleep, Foxleap padded away, making sure not to step on anyone's tail as he left, and snuck out of ThunderClan. If sneaking out was a skill, he would be the master of it by now.

He ran through the forest, though not as fast as he had for the past few nights. He was discouraged and her figured that there's be no point in wasting all his energy if Swallowtail wasn't even going to be there. But when he reached the river, he was surprised to see wide green eyes staring back at him.

Swallowtail. She had come.

They just stared at each other in shock; well, Swallowtail looked more guilty and was worried that he would be angry for her not coming for the last four days. And to make matters worse, he wasn't saying anything, he was just staring at her with those wide amber eyes of his. And then finally, he said the words that Swallowtail never expected to leave his mouth.

"Oh thank StarClan, you're okay."

Foxleap rushed forward, pressing his muzzle against Swallowtail's as a deep purr came from his throat. All the she-cat could do was stand there in surprise as he nuzzled her. "W-what?"

He wasn't angry? That just wasn't possible. He had to feel something other than just relief! She had stood him up, without so much as a reason and he wasn't furious?

"I've been so worried," Foxleap admitted. "I thought you died from hitting your head, or that Leaftail figured us out or that you were angry at me."

"Angry at you? I thought you'd be upset at me!" Swallowtail mewed. Only then did she really look at the tom. His usually glossy fur was in poor condition and his entire face was sunken with exhaustion. She had done that to him. If she hadn't been such a coward to begin with then he wouldn't look the way he did. "I should explain myself..."

"I was... I was scared. I didn't want to talk about us and I knew that when we met up again, we would have to. I needed some time to think about it but no matter how much I tried, I knew I would never be able to figure it out myself. And after Emberfoot told me he met you at the border, I finally sucked up my pride and came," Swallowtail explained. "So, it's time we talked this over. Are we mates, or are we friends?"

Foxleap blinked at her. Just the other night, she had run away from the conversation and now she was the one asking. Mates or friends. "If we decide on being friends I think we should... stop meeting up," he said quietly. "This has to be the night we decide."

"We'd be breaking the warrior code as mates and we would never truly get to be together..." Swallowtail pointed out.

"If we were friends, we'd never get to se each other either," Foxleap added. "Look, we can argue about this all night but it all comes down to one question... do we love each other?"

Swallowtail flinched back at the bluntness of it. Did she love him? He was cocky, annoying and sometimes intolerable but he was also funny, caring, and was the only one she felt like she could truly trust. Images of all those times Foxleap had helped her flashed into her head; the badger attack, when Sedgewhisker lost her kits, and the most recent, when Swallowtail hit her head.

Foxleap had been there to help her through everything. If he didn't have even the slightest feelings for him, would he have done all that? Not even her own family had been there for her that much.

While Swallowtail had an internal battle with herself, Foxleap was sitting patiently, already knowing the answer to the question.

Yes.

He did love her. It had taken four days of not seeing her to know how much he cared for her and he wasn't going to fight it. So when Swallowtail finally looked ready to answer, all he could do was hope that she felt the same.

"I... I do. I love you, Foxleap." It came out as nothing more but a whisper, but Foxleap was hit with such a flurry of emotions that it sounded like she shouted it from the mountains. "Do you love me?"

Foxleap only nodded with a wide grin on his face. "I love you too."

Swallowtail let out a breath that she hadn't noticed she had been holding as she stepped forward and pressed her muzzle to Foxleap, her mate. "Thank StarClan we got that out of the way."

Foxleap sniggered. "What, all the waiting and tension wasn't fun?"

Swallowtail snorted. "No, that's not what I would call it." She suddenly noticed how tired Foxleap looked, even with the joy and love bathing his eyes. "You should go to sleep. You look exhausted."

"I don't want to leave you though," Foxleap mewed with a pout. Swallowtail merely licked his ear.

"Then sleep here. I'll stay with you until the morning," she purred and settled down in the leaves, hidden away by the shadows where a passing cat wouldn't be able to see them.

Foxleap was going to say something else but he broke off in a yawn and decided that it was best not to argue. So instead, he curled his body around the gray she-cat's and closed his eyes. The second his eyes shut, he could tell he was starting to drift off. Swallowtail lay her head on her paws and started to sleep too.

_Mates._

They had finally done it. After about two-thirds of a moon, they had become mates. It seemed like so long ago that he was talking to her for the first time at the Gathering and now, their friendship had bloomed into so much more.

Foxleap opened his eyes one last time to look at the she-cat. She had always been pretty, but she was never considered breath-taking, stunning, or anything like that. But in that moment, when Foxleap was curled around her frame, she was _beautiful._

And with that final thought, Foxleap fell asleep.

**AWWW! Cute right? So this is the place where I'd like to thank all you incredible human beings on getting me to 162 reviews! That is... I don't even have words for it! I was going to add a bonus scene but there's not really anything that interesting happening so instead, I'll be updating tomorrow as well! Two updates in two days :)**

**Kit of the Day**

**Darkkit by Stream that Flows around Rock!**

**Question of the Day**

**Instead of a question, just tell me something about yourself! I want to get to know my readers better :)**


	16. Chapter 16

**I don't even know what to say for myself... I just thought of a pun while typing up the last chapter and I literally laughed out loud and I thought it was the funniest thing ever! I'm pretty sure about 5% of you will actually find it amusing but I still think it's too great for people not to know of. So here it is... a probably not funny, stupid, corny pun that I will probably continue to use in all of my future writing.**

**Reviews**

**Anova00 - I wish I could do that but it's too snowy and icy where I live..**

**XLorienXWarriorsX - I might add some Spidy in the next chapter :) And here's your update!**

**Lazy Watermelon - I used to have a cat named Bandit! She was so cute but I don't know what happened to her... I live on an acreage so some coyote's probably ate her. And what kind of dog?**

**Wood Cats - Thank you! And yup! Here's another chapter now!**

**Rainpool777 - Thanks again haha!**

**Khjaro - I wish I was musical like that... And had three cats. I only have one but I don't think he likes me very much.**

**poopadoop - I'm obsessed with him too, don't worry XD And that's cool, do you put any of them on YouTube or DeviantArt? Awww that's so nice, thank you! The wart of happiness part was golden by the way ;)**

**Juliet's Shadow - It's about time, hey? That's really cool! I would love to major in something like that but I'm kind of scared I won't be able to make anything out of it if I do... Good luck with Uni!**

**QLKwriter - Thank you for the submission and the nice review. :)**

**Lolkat123 - I know, it's about time! And here's today's chapter :)**

**Birdflame - That's a really good reason and if it comes up, I might just use it (and credit you of course). And I like cookies too!**

**Answer of the Day**

**My name is Tegan, I live in Canada and I have 2 dogs and a cat that doesn't like me :) My current obsessions are 5SOS, Warriors, The Maze Runner series and caramel and cheddar popcorn. It sounds weird but it's delicious :)**

* * *

Chapter Sixteen

Foxleap, Berrynose, Icecloud, Rosepetal, and Bloosomfall sat in a circle, letting the sun shine down on them. They were arguing about whether they thought Bramblestar and Squirrelflight were going to get back together; Blossomfall and Berrynose were sure they wouldn't, Foxleap and Rosepetal were sure they would, and Icecloud was still deciding.

"There's no way they're getting back together," Berrynose argued. "Trust me on this; I know best."

Foxleap huffed and argued back. "Look, all I'm saying is that Bramblestar wouldn't have appointed Squirrelflight as deputy if he didn't still have feelings for her. I bet my hind paws that they'll get back together and - OH MY STARCLAN!"

It hit Foxleap like a rock. Or falling off a steep cliff. Or being swiped at. Or anything quick and hard.

The point is that the thought hit Foxleap so hard and fast that he stopped midway through his conversation with his friends to sit up and gasp. And not a little gasp either; it was like he was trying to suck all the air out of ThunderClan.

The four other cats looked around wildly for what had caught Foxleap's attention and even wondered if they were all about to get attacked by ShadowClan or something. But when they turned back to the tom, he was pacing back and forth with a wide grin on his face.

"Uh... are you okay?" Icecloud asked, cocking her head.

"I just thought of possibly the best thing ever thought of before!" he announced. He was trying to stifle his laughter but even the thought of it made him break out into giggled. Once he managed to control himself, he turned back to his expectant Clanmates. He exhaled loudly before finally saying, "Berry_knows_ best."

There were a few moments of silence as they tried to figure the pun out. Foxleap waited patiently, wrapping his tail over his paws as his Clanmates repeated the phrase over in their minds. Rosepetal was the first to break the silence with a short laugh. "Oh I get it. That's kind of funny."

"I don't get it," Icecloud muttered as her face crinkled up in confusion.

Blossomfall was the next one to get it "Oooh! How did I never think of that?"

Finally, Berrynose figured it out. He just huffed and looked away, "It's not that funny. There are way better jokes out there."

"I'm sure Berry_knows _some funnier ones," Foxleap sniggered and the two she-cats who actually understood the pun started to laugh. "I would love to know what Berryknows."

"Ah, but no one knows what Berryknows," Blossomfall grinned, biting her lip to stop from laughing. Foxleap broke out into loud obnoxious laughs as Rosepetal and Blossomfall giggled along with him.

"It's not that funny, Foxleap!" Berrynose snapped but it was far too late. Everyone was starting to realize the endless possibilities they had at their paws with this new pun.

"Oh you know it's funny!" Foxleap laughed. "Because Berryknows all."

"I don't get it!" Icecloud yelled above the laughter. "You guys are just saying confusing sentences and laughing at them!"

"See, Icecloud doesn't think it's funny!" Berrynose yelled victoriously. He was acting like since one cat didn't understand something, it meant he just won the game of... life. He won life.

"Yeah but Icecloud also doesn't get it," Rosepetal pointed out. "To those who know the joke, it's hilarious! I know it, Blossomfall knows it... Berryknows it."

"But that doesn't make _seeeense_!" Icecloud wailed loudly. "It's 'Berrynose knows it', not just 'Berrynose it!'"

"That's why it's funny," Blossomfall sighed, trying to explain the joke to her Clanmate. But everyone knows - Berryknows - a joke isn't funny when you have to explain it. "Because nose sounds like knows-"

"Because a nose and a nose are the same thing!" Icecloud snapped with a frustrated groan. "You know what, this is just stupid! I'm going to go talk with Toad-" She froze, turned around and started walking in the opposite direction. "-Whitewing."

"How can she not get the joke?" Rosepetal asked, cocking her head.

Berrynose shrugged and said, "Not even Berryknows." Once he realized what he said, the tom froze up, slowly turning his head to Foxleap. The reddish brown toms face lit up like the sun.

"See? Even you think it's funny!" The scowl didn't fall off Berrynose's face. Suddenly Berrynose looked a little more terrifying than usual.

"FOXLEAP!"

Foxleap shrunk back. "You know, I'm just going to go..."

And that he did.

* * *

"He did that?"

Swallowtail circled around Foxleap that night as he sat there with a scowl on his face. His right ear was shredded and one piece was almost hanging off.

"Well, kind of. He chased me into the forest and I tripped over a root. I fell into a bramble patch and by the time Jayfeather got all the brambles out, my ear looked like this," Foxleap explained. He tried twitching his ear but then winced

"All because of a stupid little joke," Swallowtail purred, shaking her head. Foxleap flinched back with a horrified look on his face.

"Stupid? That joke is a well-thought out, intelligent joke that only the brightest of the bright would understand! It is not stupid," Foxleap huffed, turning away from his mate. "And now I'm offended and I don't want to talk to you."

"What would we do if we had kits?" Swallowtail asked randomly, making the tom turn back around in shock. He most definitely wasn't expecting a question like that from the she-cat. "I mean, hypothetically speaking. We're both from different Clans and I think everyone would notice if my kits were the same colouring as you..."

"I guess one of us could switch Clans. I wouldn't dream of leaving ThunderClan but if it came down to it... I'd do it." The conversation's tone had taken such a tone from light-hearted to serious in a matter of seconds. "But if I were a kit, I think it'd be worse if everyone knew that you were half-Clan than not knowing who your father was. I know that Jayfeather and Lionblaze took it really hard."

"But wouldn't it be hard not growing up without a father?" Swallowtail pointed out. "Tornear was my father and even though he was a little estranged, I couldn't imagine growing up without him. He truly loved me and my sister and I wouldn't be the cat that I am today if he wasn't there."

"Would you be the cat that you are today if Onestar wasn't your leader?" Foxleap shot back.

"Well, no but Onestar isn't my father," Swallowtail pointed out.

"But he still played a part in raising you. Everyone in your Clan did; your parents, your mentor, your leader and everyone who taught you right from wrong. Brightheart, Brackenfur, and Thornclaw all grew up without ever knowing who their father was and they're some of the most loyal cats in the Clans. All I'm saying is that even if I'm not there to help raise them, they won't be alone."

"I see," Swallowtail mewed understandingly. "What would you name them?"

Foxleap paused in thought. It was hard to imagine something that wasn't already created and all he could think of was him and Swallowtail running around together as kits. "For a she-cat, I'd want something that represented my mother or my sister. I used to have to other sister who died before I was born so Larchkit or Hollykit. For a male... I'd want something that ThunderClan holds dear... like maybe Treekit or Forestkit."

"Thistlekit?" Swallowtail asked in almost a whisper. Her sister's name was Thistlepaw before she died.

"Thistlekit," Foxleap nodded with a purr. He laughed, "Well if you magically have kits tomorrow then at least we're set for name's."

But Swallowtail wasn't laughing at the joke. She looked deep in concentration and her mouth was open and she was scenting something. "Do you smell that?"

Foxleap opened his mouth and let the scent's swarm in. He instantly picked up on what Swallowtail was scenting. It smelled maybe a day or two old, musky, and wild. He had never scented anything like it but he didn't want to risk it. "I think it's time we go back to camp."

"I think so too," Swallowtail agreed. "Go on border patrol tomorrow and pretend like you just scented it then. Maybe someone else will know what it is," she said. "Tell me tomorrow if you think it's going to be a danger or not."

"Will do," Foxleap rushed. His fur was bristled slightly and he was wildly looking around to make sure there wasn't any wild creature that leapt out at him or something. "Goodbye Swallowtail, I love you."

"Love you too," she replied hurriedly pressing her muzzle against Foxleap's. She turned and leapt over the river before stopping once more and turning back around. "Be careful Foxleap."

"I'll be fine," Foxleap nodded as he watched her shoot him one last worried look before running away, away from the forest and away from him. He scented the air one last time confirm that the thing wasn't close before he broke out into a sprint, leaping over roots and logs to get back to ThunderClan. Whatever this thing was, it wasn't close.

He snuck back into camp and into his nest well before the sun rose. As he settled down into his nest, he glanced over at his sister to see her twitching and muttering under her breath. Was she having a nightmare? Icecloud twitched again, accidentally kicking Toadstep in the flank and the tom shot up, making Ivypool stir. Foxleap sat up as well but he ducked his head when he saw that Toadstep had it under control.

The tom carefully untangled himself from his mate as he padded closer to Icecloud. He tried nudging her with his paw but that only made her let out a low whimper. He nudged her again, "Icecloud wake up."

Icecloud was shaking terribly by now and Foxleap was about to help her when she woke. Icecloud shot up, letting out a short scream but managing to cut herself off. Her blue eyes were wide with terror and her entire body was shaking like a leaf. "Icecloud, you were having a bad dream," Toadstep whispered. "Are you okay?"

Icecloud slowly nodded.

"Do you want to talk about it?"

Another slow nod.

Icecloud stood, leaning slightly on Toadstep as they made their way out of the den. Foxleap was surprised that she even let the tom touch her after everything that went down but she was too scared to care. Foxleap just hoped they settled thing's once and for all so the Clan could finally go back to normal without any tension.

Foxleap watched the two disappear out of the den before he finally settled down for some sleep. He expected to fall asleep right away like he did every night after meeting Swallowtail but somehow, he couldn't. Because all he could think about was a strange creature hurting his sister and it kept him awake until the sun came up.

**Probably my worst chapter but what did you guys think? Toad/Ice talk next chapter! And also, I'm planning this chapter to go up to about chapter 20-25 so unfortunately that means this is starting to come to a close. I already have part of the last chapter written because it's really cute and fun to write :) **

**Kit of the Day**

**Mousekit by Stuffed Watermelon!**

**Question of the Day**

**If you could kill one cat from Warriors, who would you kill?**


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